By Adriano Marchese


Shares in Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. fell in early trading on Monday after the two companies said they plan to go to court to save their $16 billion merger after Canada's antitrust watchdog said it plans to block it.

At 9:39 a.m. ET, shares in Rogers were down 5.1% to 63.58 while Shaw shares were down 9.2% at C$34.10.

On Saturday, the two companies said the Competition Bureau told them it would begin legal proceedings to halt their merger.

Rogers and Shaw unveiled the high-profile move last year and said the merger would help accelerate the deployment of 5G wireless service across Canada. The merger has faced public skepticism that an already over-concentrated wireless-service sector would become even more so.

The two companies said they remain committed to the combination and would challenge the watchdog's decision at Canada's Competition Tribunal.


Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-09-22 0959ET