MONTRÉAL, May 2, 2022
/CNW Telbec/ - Cogeco Communications Inc. (the "Corporation" or
"Cogeco Communications") announces that the Toronto Stock Exchange
(the "TSX") has accepted its notice of intention for a normal
course issuer bid in respect of its Subordinate Voting Shares (the
"Subordinate Shares"). Purchases pursuant to the notice will not
commence prior to May 4, 2022 and
will not continue beyond May 3,
2023.
The notice will enable Cogeco Communications to acquire up to
1,500,000 Subordinate Shares for cancellation, representing
approximately 4.9% of the 30,610,822 subordinate shares outstanding
and 7.6% percent of the 19,609,056 shares constituting the "public
float" of the Corporation's issued and outstanding shares as of
April 22, 2022.
Cogeco Communications currently believes that the purchase of
its Subordinate Shares under the normal course issuer bid is an
appropriate and desirable use of available cash to increase
shareholder value and that it provides additional investment
returns to its shareholders.
All purchases will be conducted through the facilities of the
TSX or Canadian alternative trading systems, if eligible, and will
conform to their regulations. Purchases under the normal course
issuer bid will be made by means of open market transactions.
Under TSX rules, the Corporation will be allowed to purchase
daily, through the facilities of the TSX, a maximum of 19,367
Subordinate Shares representing 25% of the average daily trading
volume, as calculated per the TSX rules. In addition, the
Corporation may make, once per week, a block purchase (as such term
is defined in the TSX Company Manual) of Subordinate Shares not
directly or indirectly owned by insiders of the Corporation, in
accordance with TSX rules. The Subordinate Shares purchased
pursuant to the normal course issuer bid will be cancelled.
The price to be paid by the Corporation for any Subordinate
Share will be the market price at the time of acquisition, plus
brokerage fees where applicable.
The Corporation has also entered into an automatic share
purchase plan with a designated broker to allow for the purchase of
subordinate voting shares under the normal course issuer bid at
times when the Corporation would ordinarily not be permitted to
purchase shares due to regulatory restrictions or self-imposed
blackout periods.
Under its current normal course issuer bid that commenced on
May 4, 2021 and will end on
May 3, 2022, Cogeco Communications
received the approval of the TSX to purchase for cancellation a
maximum of 2,068,000 Subordinate Shares. During the period from
May 4, 2021 to April 22, 2022 inclusively, Cogeco purchased
through the facilities of the TSX and Canadian alternative trading
systems a total of 1,137,525 Subordinate Shares at a weighted
average price per Subordinate Share of $110.48.
About Cogeco Communications
Rooted in the communities
it serves, Cogeco Communications Inc. (TSX: CCA) is a growing
competitive force in the North American telecommunications sector
with a legacy of 65 years. Through its business units Cogeco
Connexion and Breezeline (formerly Atlantic Broadband), Cogeco
Communications provides Internet, video and phone services to 1.6
million residential and business customers in Quebec and Ontario in Canada as well as in twelve states in
the United States. To learn more
about Cogeco Communications' growth strategy and its commitment to
support its communities, promote inclusive growth and fight climate
change, please visit us online at corpo.cogeco.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS
Certain statements contained in this press release may
constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of
securities laws. Forward-looking information may relate to Cogeco
Communications Inc.'s ("Cogeco Communications" or the
"Corporation") future outlook and anticipated events, business,
operations, financial performance, financial condition or results
and, in some cases, can be identified by terminology such as "may";
"will"; "should"; "expect"; "plan"; "anticipate"; "believe";
"intend"; "estimate"; "predict"; "potential"; "continue";
"foresee", "ensure" or other similar expressions concerning matters
that are not historical facts. Particularly, statements regarding
the Corporation's financial guidelines, future operating results
and economic performance, objectives and strategies are
forward-looking statements. These statements are based on certain
factors and assumptions including expected growth, results of
operations, purchase price allocation, tax rates, weighted average
cost of capital, performance and business prospects and
opportunities, which Cogeco Communications believes are reasonable
as of the current date. Refer in particular to the "Corporate
objectives and strategies" and "Fiscal 2022 financial guidelines"
sections of the Corporation's 2021 annual MD&A and the "Fiscal
2022 revised financial guidelines" of the MD&A for a discussion
of certain key economic, market and operational assumptions we have
made in preparing forward-looking statements. While management
considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information
currently available to the Corporation, they may prove to be
incorrect. Forward-looking information is also subject to certain
factors, including risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially from what Cogeco Communications
currently expects. These factors include risks such as competitive
risks, business risks (including potential disruption to our supply
chain worsened by the increasing instability resulting from the war
in Ukraine, increasing
transportation lead times, scarcity of input materials and
shortages of chipsets, semi-conductors and key telecommunication
equipment), regulatory risks, technology risks (including
cybersecurity), financial risks (including variations in currency
and interest rates), economic conditions (including elevated
inflation and a potential recession), human-caused and natural
threats to our network, infrastructure and systems, community
acceptance risks, ethical behavior risks, ownership risks,
litigation risks and public health crisis and emergencies such as
the COVID-19 pandemic, many of which are beyond the Corporation's
control. For more exhaustive information on these risks and
uncertainties, the reader should refer to the "Uncertainties and
main risk factors" sections of the Corporation's 2021 annual
MD&A and of the current MD&A. These factors are not
intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could
affect Cogeco Communications and future events and results may vary
significantly from what management currently foresees. The reader
should not place undue importance on forward-looking information
contained in this press release which represent Cogeco
Communications' expectations as of the date of this press release
(or as of the date they are otherwise stated to be made) and are
subject to change after such date. While management may elect to do
so, the Corporation is under no obligation (and expressly disclaims
any such obligation) and does not undertake to update or alter this
information at any particular time, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
All amounts are stated in Canadian dollars unless otherwise
indicated.
Source:
Patrice Ouimet
Senior Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer
Cogeco Communications Inc.
Tel.: 514-764-4700
MEDIA:
Marie-Hélène Labrie
Senior Vice President and Chief Public
Affairs, Communications and Strategy Officer
Tel: 514-764-4700
SOURCE Cogeco Communications Inc.