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

financialpost.com:

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.

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 per cent 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.

The company earned $1.42 a share on an adjusted basis in the third quarter, beating the $1.36 expected by analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Revenue came in short of expectations at $5.13 billion, though media revenue growth was a bright spot. That unit brought in $653 million, exceeding analysts’ forecasts, because of higher sports revenue.

Rogers’ wireless unit, its largest business, added 101,000 postpaid mobile subscribers during the three months ended Sept. 30.

Rogers, along with BCE and Telus Corp., were urged this month by Canada’s telecom regulator to report “concrete steps” in reducing roaming fees by Nov. 4. The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications