Rogers Communications (RCI.A) — Completes C$4.35B MLSE buyout to 100% ownership

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Quick version: 60-second Short

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The short version: all of MLSE, in a soft telecom tape

Rogers Communications (TSX: RCI.A), Canada’s largest wireless carrier and a major cable and media company, closed at CA$44.99 (Class A) on October 2, 2026, down about 13.5% over the last month and about 9% over twelve months. On October 1, it completed a C$4.35B purchase of the remaining 25% of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, giving it 100% of MLSE: the Leafs, the Raptors, Toronto FC, the Argonauts and Scotiabank Arena. The new story is Rogers Sports, one unit that combines MLSE with the Blue Jays and Sportsnet.

On the screener, Rogers trades at only about 4x trailing earnings, but that figure is distorted; on forward earnings it is about 9.5x. The question for a new buyer is whether a C$4.35B sports cheque earns its keep for a telecom with a leverage question. Below we go through the close, how Rogers got here, and how it compares with Bell, TELUS and Quebecor on size, returns, valuation, dividends and analyst targets.

What happened: the C$4.35B MLSE close

On October 1, 2026, Rogers completed the purchase of the remaining 25% of MLSE from Kilmer Sports Inc. for C$4.35B, bringing its ownership to 100%. What comes with it, and what changes:

• MLSE owns the Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL), Toronto Raptors (NBA), Toronto FC (MLS), Toronto Argonauts (CFL), development teams, Scotiabank Arena and a Live Nation partnership.
• Rogers will create Rogers Sports, combining MLSE with the Toronto Blue Jays, Rogers Centre, Sportsnet, more than 30 television networks and more than 40 radio stations.
• Keith Pelley stays President and CEO of MLSE and takes on additional Rogers Media accountability; Mark Shapiro stays President and CEO of the Blue Jays.
• The operating model for Rogers Sports is still being built; in the interim it is business as usual.

The close is a strategic step, not an earnings event. Sports franchises produce media rights, ticket and sponsorship revenue, but their value lies mostly in content for Sportsnet and in long-term asset appreciation. The cost is real: C$4.35B in cash adds to a balance sheet that was already stretched.

The path from the Bell stake to 100%

The October 1 close is the last step in a two-stage buyout. In 2025, Rogers bought Bell’s former 37.5% MLSE stake for about C$4.7B, which made it the majority owner. It then followed the path to exercise its option on Kilmer’s 25% in July, and league approvals cleared for the October close.

Put together, Rogers has spent roughly C$9B over about a year to move from part-owner to sole owner of Toronto’s main sports franchises. That is a large bet on content for a company still digesting its 2023 purchase of Shaw. It also explains why investors focus on leverage and free cash flow rather than on trailing earnings.

Business overview: Rogers vs communications peers

Rogers earns most of its money from wireless and cable (internet, TV and home phone), with a smaller media division that includes Sportsnet, the Blue Jays and now all of MLSE. Wireless and internet subscriptions are the steady, recurring core; media and sports are more volatile and capital-hungry, but they feed the content side of the bundle.

On the TSX screener, Rogers sits in the Communications sector. The peers are the other liquid national and regional carriers: Bell (BCE), the largest telecom by revenue and Rogers’ main rival in wireless, internet and media; TELUS (T), the third national carrier, with health and agriculture technology units; and Quebecor (QBR.A), the owner of Vidéotron and Freedom Mobile. Smaller names in the sector were left out as microcaps. The table uses the Class A shares (RCI.A) because the more liquid Class B shares were not in this screener export.

Overview table

Company (Ticker)	Price	Market cap	Revenue (LTM)	Net income (LTM)
Rogers (RCI.A)	$44.99	$23.9B	$22.6B	$6.17B
Bell (BCE)	$28.17	$26.3B	$24.8B	$6.42B
TELUS (T)	$11.47	$18.2B	$20.2B	−$919M
Quebecor (QBR.A)	$62.36	$13.9B	$5.79B	$944M
Average (incl. RCI.A)	—	$20.6B	$18.4B	$3.15B

Source: TSX screener (October 3, 2026, tsx-2026-10-03.csv) · CAD · LTM = last 12 months. Average includes RCI.A; blank cells skipped.

Rogers is about a C$23.9B company (Class A basis) on about C$22.6B of revenue and C$6.17B of net income over the last twelve months. Bell is a touch larger on market value and revenue, TELUS is smaller with a net loss, and Quebecor is the compact peer at about C$13.9B. Rogers’ and Bell’s net income figures are unusually high relative to normal earnings power, so treat their trailing earnings with care.

Performance: the close landed in a soft tape

Performance table

Company (Ticker)	1M	3M	6M	1Y	5Y	10Y
Rogers (RCI.A)	−13.5%	−2.2%	−15.1%	−9.1%	−25.0%	−23.7%
Bell (BCE)	−13.8%	−7.2%	−18.9%	−13.9%	−55.4%	−53.9%
TELUS (T)	−14.7%	−20.7%	−35.7%	−47.7%	−58.7%	−47.1%
Quebecor (QBR.A)	+0.6%	−6.9%	+6.6%	+39.9%	+104%	+211%
Average (incl. RCI.A)	−10.3%	−9.3%	−15.8%	−7.7%	−8.7%	+21.5%

Source: TSX screener (October 3, 2026). Average includes RCI.A; blank cells skipped. Price change by window.

Over one month Rogers is down about 13.5%, in line with Bell and TELUS, while Quebecor is roughly flat. Over one year Rogers is down about 9%, Bell about 14% and TELUS about 48%, while Quebecor is up about 40%. The weakness is sector-wide among the three national carriers, so the MLSE close landed into a soft telecom tape rather than sparking a breakout.

The long windows are poor for the big three. Rogers is down about 25% over five years and 24% over ten, Bell down more than half, and Quebecor up about 211% over ten years, the only clear winner in the group.

Valuation: cheap on paper, average on forward earnings

Valuation table

Company (Ticker)	P/E	Fwd P/E	PEG	P/S	P/B	P/FCF	Price/Cash
Rogers (RCI.A)	3.95	9.53	0.01	1.08	1.47	8.85	14.08
Bell (BCE)	4.19	11.30	0.00	1.07	1.27	9.89	54.84
TELUS (T)	—	15.55	—	0.91	1.36	8.32	13.02
Quebecor (QBR.A)	15.27	13.71	0.67	2.48	5.09	9.16	115
Average (incl. RCI.A)	7.80	12.52	0.23	1.38	2.30	9.05	49.30

Source: TSX screener (October 3, 2026). Average includes RCI.A; blank cells skipped. Highlighted = lowest (cheapest) positive value per column.

Rogers’ trailing P/E near 4x looks cheap next to Quebecor’s 15x, but the large trailing net income distorts it, and Bell’s 4x has the same problem. TELUS has no trailing P/E because of its loss. On forward earnings, Rogers is about 9.5x, still the lowest in the group, against about 11x for Bell, 14x for Quebecor and 16x for TELUS.

On sales and free cash flow, Rogers clusters with Bell and TELUS: about 1.1x sales and 9x free cash flow. Quebecor screens richer on sales and book value. So Rogers is modestly cheaper, not a deep-value story, once you use forward earnings. The multiple could rise if free cash flow holds up after the MLSE cheque and leverage starts to come down.

Dividend: the lower-yield, lower-payout name

Dividends table

Company (Ticker)	Dividend / share	Yield	Payout ratio
Rogers (RCI.A)	$2.00	4.45%	17.5%
Bell (BCE)	$2.31	6.21%	26.0%
TELUS (T)	$1.65	6.54%	—
Quebecor (QBR.A)	$1.40	2.89%	36.1%
Average (incl. RCI.A)	$1.84	5.02%	26.5%

Source: TSX screener (October 3, 2026). Average includes RCI.A; blank cells skipped. Yield = indicated.

Rogers pays C$2.00 a share a year, an indicated yield of about 4.45%, on a payout near 17.5% of trailing earnings (higher on normalized earnings). Bell yields about 6.2%, and TELUS about 6.5% on its indicated rate after the dividend reset; its trailing yield of about 12% is stale and its payout ratio is blank because of the net loss. Quebecor yields about 2.9%. Rogers is the lower-yield, lower-payout name among the big three, which leaves room to keep paying while it absorbs the MLSE cost.

Analyst view: about 32% upside to consensus

Analyst table

Company (Ticker)	Rating	Price	Target 1Y	Upside	Analysts
Rogers (RCI.A)	Buy	$44.99	$59.31	+31.8%	18
Bell (BCE)	Buy	$28.17	$37.33	+32.5%	19
TELUS (T)	Neutral	$11.47	$14.19	+23.7%	18
Quebecor (QBR.A)	Buy	$62.36	$70.12	+12.4%	13
Average (incl. RCI.A)	—	—	—	+25.1%	—

Rating & price: TSX screener (October 3, 2026). Target 1Y: S&P Global via stockanalysis.com for RCI.B (18), BCE (19), T (18); MarketBeat for QBR.B (13). Pulled 2026-10-03. Upside = target ÷ price − 1.

The screener rates Rogers a Buy. The S&P Global consensus target on the more liquid Class B listing is C$59.31 from 18 analysts, about 32% above the Class A price. Recent target moves: National Bank cut its target from C$62 to C$59 on September 30 but kept a Buy, and Desjardins upgraded to Buy with a C$58 target in mid-September. Bell’s consensus sits near C$37 (about 32% upside), TELUS near C$14 with a Neutral rating, and Quebecor near C$70 (about 12% upside). The Street sees the telecom selloff as overdone, with Rogers and Bell showing the most upside.

Why it matters: from leveraged consolidator to sports-and-content owner

The old narrative was Rogers as a leveraged wireless and cable consolidator still digesting Shaw and its first MLSE stake. The new narrative is full ownership of Toronto’s sports complex under one Rogers Sports banner: content, tickets and wireless cross-selling in one house.

Income investors still get a mid-4% yield. Growth investors and sports fans care whether the C$4.35B cheque earns its keep. The open question is whether Rogers eventually brings in outside capital for the sports assets, or keeps them on its own balance sheet.

Bull case

1. One roof for Toronto sports. 100% of MLSE plus the Blue Jays and Sportsnet sit under Rogers Sports after a clean October 1 close.
2. Street support. Consensus near C$59 with a Buy bias holds even after National Bank’s trim.
3. Room to wait. A forward multiple near 9.5x, a 4.45% yield and a low payout leave room if free cash flow holds.

Bear case and risks

1. More leverage. C$4.35B on top of the earlier C$4.7B Bell stake raises leverage and execution risk in sports and media.
2. No re-rating yet. The stock is down about 13.5% over a month alongside Bell and TELUS; closing MLSE did not lift it.
3. Distorted earnings. Trailing ~4x earnings is not a free lunch; trailing net income is inflated, so real earnings power sits closer to the forward figure.

What to watch

1. Rogers Sports structure. How the unit is organized and whether Pelley’s media remit shows up in next-quarter commentary.
2. Q3 results. Wireless and cable trends, plus any disclosure of the sports contribution.
3. Leverage and free cash flow after the C$4.35B payment.
4. Analyst targets. Whether the cluster near C$59 holds.

Bottom line

Rogers now owns all of MLSE, and with the Blue Jays and Sportsnet it controls one of the largest sports and content packages in Canada. On forward earnings it is the cheapest of the big Canadian carriers, with a lower payout than Bell or TELUS and about 32% upside to consensus. The issue is cost: roughly C$9B spent on MLSE in about a year, on top of the Shaw debt, while the telecom sector is out of favour. The next test is whether free cash flow and leverage improve enough in the coming quarters to make the sports bet look like a strength rather than a burden.

Video chapters

• 0:00 Hook — C$4.35B MLSE close
• 0:08 Leafs, Raptors & Rogers Sports
• 0:23 What happened — October 1 close
• 0:55 Path from Bell stake to 100%
• 1:03 Overview — communications peers
• 1:26 Performance heatmap
• 1:47 Valuation (forward ~9.5x)
• 2:14 Dividends
• 2:36 Analyst ratings & targets
• 2:48 Recent target moves
• 3:04 Why it matters
• 3:29 Bull case
• 3:51 Bear case
• 4:17 What to watch

Data notes

Table figures are TSX screener values (merge tsx-2026-10-03.csv, 3,455 rows; October 2 close; CAD). Peers are same-sector (Communications) liquid carriers: Bell, TELUS and Quebecor; microcaps were dropped. The focus row uses RCI.A because RCI.B was absent from this export; the Target 1Y uses the RCI.B consensus (October 2 Class B close: CA$43.94). Average rows include RCI.A and skip blank cells. Rogers’ and Bell’s trailing P/E are distorted by elevated trailing net income, so the text leans on forward P/E. TELUS has no trailing P/E (net loss) and its payout ratio is blank (negative GAAP payout); its yield uses the indicated 6.54% rather than the stale trailing figure of about 12.4%. Target 1Y is S&P Global consensus via stockanalysis.com for RCI.B (18 analysts), BCE (19) and T (18), and MarketBeat for QBR.B (13), pulled 2026-10-03; none under 5. Deal details are from Rogers’ October 1, 2026 release and Form 6-K.

Sources

• Rogers Communications news release and SEC Form 6-K, October 1, 2026 — completion of the acquisition of Kilmer Sports’ 25% MLSE stake
• Rogers / BCE releases, 2025 — Rogers’ purchase of Bell’s 37.5% MLSE stake
• Broker notes: Desjardins (September 14, 2026), National Bank (September 30, 2026)
• stockanalysis.com — S&P Global consensus for RCI.B, BCE and T; MarketBeat consensus for QBR.B (pulled 2026-10-03)
• TSX screener merge October 3, 2026 (3,455 rows)

Media credits

Wikimedia Commons: Rogers logo (File:Rogers logo.svg, public domain); “Scotiabank Arena Exterior” by SamKramer123 (CC BY 4.0); “Scotiabank Arena summer 2022” by Adam Bishop (CC BY-SA 4.0); “ON - Rogers Centre Toronto” by Taxiarchos228 (CC BY-SA 3.0 DE); “Newer and heritage elements of Rogers Building” by Gary J. Wood (CC BY-SA 2.0). No AI-generated images were used.

By Andrew · stocksummarizer.com