TELUS Acquires Mobilicity For $380 Million In The Midst Of Financial Challenges

BY: 

Dave Forde
May 17, 2013

Running a cellular network is an expensive business, and taking on the Big 3 – Bell, Rogers and TELUS has been more work than expected for the “new carriers” that entered the Canadian.  After spending $243 million in the spectrum auction, Dave Wireless was born which shortly was renamed to Mobilicity, but very quickly experienced a number of changes such as Dave Dobbin stepped down and was replaced by Stewart Lyons as the new CEO.  Then the future of Mobilicity Knight In Shining Armorwas in question as rumours of the company being for sale started to surface.  Fortunately with its 250,00 customer base, a “knight in shining armor,” has swooped in as TELUS has agreed to acquire the struggling Mobilicity for $380 million.  The agreement is still subject to approval from the Competition Bureau, Industry Canada, and Mobilicity’s debtholders.

“A concern for our customers and employees led us to approach TELUS, which has a reputation for a strong customer focus, as evidenced by their industry leading client loyalty,” said Stewart Lyons, Mobilicity President. “I am confident TELUS will look after our employees and our customers, mitigating any disruption to their service, while offering the best outcome for all stakeholders.”

William Aziz, Mobilicity Chief Restructuring Officer, continued, “Mobilicity has been losing a significant amount of money every month. The financial strength of TELUS will allow the business to be continued in a way that will benefit customers and employees. An acquisition by TELUS is the best alternative for Mobilicity.”

The entire purchase price will be used to satisfy Mobilicity’s secured and unsecured debt. If this deal is approved, TELUS will retain all 150 Mobilicity employees as it integrates the Mobilicity operation into TELUS over the coming months.

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Dave Forde


Dave “The Connector” Forde has been involved in the marketing, public relations and technology industry across Canada for over 20 years in various sales and marketing roles, he launched The Connected One network of business sites which connects buyers to the right sellers. Profectio and PR In Canada covers news about the marketing and public relations industry each day helping professionals advance their career and businesses. He also serves as an advisor to a number of businesses across the country. Find Dave on LinkedIn and Twitter.


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