Canadian Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. operates the XM satellite radio service in Canada, and acquired control of Sirius Canada Inc. which operates the Sirius satellite radio service in Canada. This merger replicated the merger of the XM and Sirius services that occurred earlier in the U.S. The combined enterprise value of XM Canada and Sirius Canada was in excess of $500 million.
The acquisition of control required the prior approval of the CRTC under the Broadcasting Act and the approval of the Competition Bureau under the Competition Act. It was Fasken Martineau's responsibility as regulatory counsel to obtain these approvals. Positive decisions were received from both the CRTC and the Competition Bureau, and the merger was completed on June 21, 2011.
Canadian Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. was advised by a team led by Robert Buchan and Stephen Whitehead, who were the principal lawyers on communications regulatory issues. The team also included Leslie Milton (competition), Scott M. Prescott (communications) and student-at-law Joel Henderson.