The Competition Bureau has entered into a consent agreement with Bell Media Inc. related to its proposed acquisition of Outedge Media Canada LP, formerly Outfront Media Canada LP. This agreement resolves competition concerns over outdoor advertising services provided by Bell and Outedge using their respective inventories of billboards and transit displays in Ontario and Quebec.
The Bureau's investigation concluded that the merger was likely to substantially lessen competition in Québec City, Trois-Rivières, Sherbrooke, the Greater Montréal Area and the Greater Toronto Area. Outedge and Bell vigorously competed with one another in these markets where there are a limited number of rival suppliers of outdoor advertising services. The loss of that rivalry would have resulted in higher prices and fewer options for customers. Other companies would face significant barriers to enter or expand into these markets. Those barriers include strict by-laws and lengthy permitting processes for outdoor advertising providers.
As part of this agreement, Bell must sell a total of 669 advertising displays, including certain digital displays, across the five markets. In designing the remedy, the Bureau considered the differences across Bell and Outedge's outdoor assets. The agreement will ensure that a purchaser has a sufficient diversity of assets to effectively compete with Bell.
The complete consent agreement is available on the Competition Tribunal's website.
