Canada’s Competition Bureau has announced that, following a review by its Mergers Branch, Bragg Communications – which trades as Eastlink – and Bruce Telecom have terminated their previously announced merger agreement. Both companies are facilities-based providers of telecoms services, including wireline telephone, broadband internet and television, within Bruce County, Ontario.
The Bureau’s review concluded that, had Eastlink’s acquisition of Bruce Telecom proceeded as proposed, it would have likely resulted in ‘a substantial lessening or prevention of competition’ in the towns of Port Elgin and Paisley, where the two firms are the only providers of wireline services.
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, Atlantic Canada-based Eastlink is the fifth largest Canadian cable TV provider by subscribers. Eastlink currently owns and operates more than 500 cable systems across Canada.