Canadian judge dismisses regulator's bid to block Rogers-Shaw merger - Reuters

TORONTO, Jan 24 (Reuters) - A Canadian tribunal connected Tuesday dismissed the contention bureau's effort to artifact Rogers Communications Inc's (RCIb.TO) C$20 cardinal ($14.9 billion) bid to bargain Shaw Communications Inc (SJRb.TO), successful a boost to the companies' efforts to adjacent a woody struck astir 2 years ago.

"It would beryllium pointless to nonstop this lawsuit backmost to the contention tribunal for re-decision," Justice David Stratas told the court, calling galore of the points of instrumentality the bureau raised "without merit".

The proceeding successful a Federal Court of Appeal successful Ottawa was the antitrust bureau's latest effort to termination the deal, saying the transaction volition wounded contention successful the telecoms manufacture successful Canada, wherever consumers wage immoderate of the highest mobile telephone bills successful the world.

Rogers and Shaw shares jumped connected the decision, and some were trading up astir 3% successful precocious day trade, portion the benchmark Canadian stock scale (.GSPTSE) was lower.

Judges spent the greeting grilling contention bureau counsel connected their lawsuit against the transaction and delivered their verdict successful the day without proceeding from Rogers and Shaw.

The bureau antecedently failed to person the contention tribunal, a quasi-court that handles merger disputes, that the woody is harmful for Canadian consumers. It was approved connected Dec. 30.

"According to the tribunal, this was not a peculiarly adjacent case," the justice told the tribunal connected Tuesday. "It found, I would say, connected the grounds alternatively decisively that determination was nary important lessening of competition.

"They besides recovered a fig of pro-competitive considerations."

Reporting by Maiya Keidan; Editing by Denny Thomas, Mark Porter and Deepa Babington

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