Catalyst hires four consultant lobbyists on spectrum issues

Catalyst Capital Group Inc. hired four consultant lobbyists in Ottawa to communicate with the government about spectrum licences and telecom policy, the federal lobbyist registry shows. Newton Glassman, managing partner of Catalyst, a private equity firm, told The Globe and Mail this week that he is interested in owning a wireless player to compete with Canada's three national incumbents, BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc., and Telus Corp. Catalyst has stepped in with an offer to purchase VimpelCom Ltd.'s Wind Mobile, according to a report in The Globe in Mail, and is in a legal fight over its debt with Dave Wireless Inc., which could permit the private equity firm to assert control over the new entrant wireless carrier that operates as Mobilicity. The lobbyist registry says Catalyst hired four consultants to lobby on the “Policy Framework with regard to the terms and conditions of auction for Spectrum Licences for Advanced Wireless Services” and “Policy development related to the telecommunications policy and the proposed Digital Economy Strategy with respect to spectrum policy.” The Lobby Monitor first reported on the new registrations on Thursday. “Given that he's spoken publicly about the company's interest in the wireless space and the need for certainty on the government's policy, they would be having some discussions with government,” a person familiar with Catalyst's plans told The Wire Report on a background basis. Industry Minister Christian Paradis is consulting on new rules to govern the transfer of spectrum licences, which may be released this spring or summer in advance of a spectrum auction in November. As part of the policy, the minister says he wants to ensure the presence of four carriers in each “region” of the country. The Wire Report reported last month that the policy could be left unfulfilled in Ontario, British Columbia and Albert if new entrant carriers Wind Mobile, Public Mobile Inc. and Mobilicity are sold to incumbents. The Globe and Mail also reported this month that Telus Corp. was in talks to purchase Mobilicity for $350 million to $400 million. “We are willing to put our money where our mouth is,” Glassman told the Globe in an interview this week, adding that he is interested in operating a wireless carrier that could help fulfil Industry Minister Christian Paradis' policy aim for four competing carriers in every region of the country. “I want policy to succeed.” The lobbyist registrations, effective at the end of April, say Catalyst hired consultants Patrick White, Katlyn Harrison, and Tim Powers at Summa Strategies, as well as Bruce Drysdale at Drysdale Forstner Hamilton Public Affairs in Toronto, to communicate with government about the spectrum policy issues. This year, Catalyst filed an application at the Ontario Superior Court to challenge a $75-million loan agreement with Mobilicity, which last week announced a restructuring plan and a possible sale. The new entrant carrier said in a release Feb. 12 that it had made an initial draw of $15 million on the Catalyst debt. Summa Strategies declined to comment Friday, and a spokesman with Argyle Communications working for Catalyst, said the company had no comment for this story. Scotia Capital telecom analyst Jeff Fan said in a research note in April that his firm does not “pay much attention to financial investors” who appear to be interested in the new entrants because the investments are not likely to be long-term. “We think the speculated financial investors are looking at this simply as an opportunity to pick up spectrum from the new entrants and flip them to incumbents,” Fan wrote. “We assume they are rational and will not financially back money-losing businesses over the long run.” Former Wind backer Naguib Sawiris' investment firm Accelero Capital is also making an offer to purchase Wind Mobile, and hired an Ottawa consulting firm in April to talk to the federal government about spectrum regulations. New entrant wireless carriers are looking for cash as they prepare to compete with incumbent telcos in an Industry Canada wireless auction of 700 MHz spectrum starting Nov. 19, in which they may spend hundreds of millions of dollars. Companies participating in Industry Canada's 700 MHz spectrum auction have until June 11 to submit initial applications and deposits. —With reporting by Simon Doyle at sdoyle@thewirereport.ca and copy editing by Simon Doyle at sdoyle@thewirereport.ca

Catalyst hires four consultant lobbyists on spectrum issues

Broadcast | May 3, 2013

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