Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of Canadian telecom stocks popped today after giant Verizon (VZ -0.10%) agreed to buy U.K.-based Vodafone Group's stake in Verizon Wireless for $130 billion.
So what: The deal pretty much squelches the possibility that Verizon will enter Canada, removing a cloud of uncertainty over Canada's "big three" telcos: Telus (TU 0.06%), Rogers (RCI 1.37%), and BCE (BCE 1.85%), which up today as high as 9%, 11%, and 6%, respectively. Specifically, the size of the acquisition makes the Canadian market just too small for Verizon to play in, reigniting good vibes over the big three's oligopolistic pricing power.
Now what: It'll be business as usual for Canada's telcos. "Verizon is not going to Canada," said Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam in an interview with Bloomberg, and called the speculation over the possibility "way overblown." More importantly, with Telus, Rogers, and BCE still trading off their 52-week highs even after today's pop, there might be some value left in the group.
