Rogers nears $7-billion financing deal with investor it won’t name

Published Oct 24, 2024 • Last updated Oct 24, 2024 • 1 minute read

A Rogers store in the Capilano Mall in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022. Rogers Communications Inc. is still waiting to see if it can win regulatory approval for a takeover of a smaller Canadian cable company, 17 months after it was first announced. Photo by Taehoon Kim /Bloomberg

Rogers Communications Inc., Canada’s largest wireless company, says it’s close to a $7 billion structured equity investment to finance parts of its network and reduce its debt load.

Story continues below

The Toronto-based company said Thursday it has a “non-binding term sheet with a leading global financial investor” that it didn’t name. Rogers will keep operational control of its networks, the firm said in a statement.

The disclosure sheds light on how the company plans to keep its leverage under control while also buying a 37.5% stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. from BCE Inc., its biggest competitor.

That $4.7 billion deal, announced last month, would give Rogers control of some of Canada’s most valuable sports franchises, including the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team. The company said at the time it plans to complete the transaction without increasing its leverage, but it gave little detail on financing.

Rogers already owns the Toronto Blue Jays baseball club and one of Canada’s two major sports cable TV networks.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.

Create an Account

Join the Conversation

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.