Son of Ted Rogers to take over company reins

Rogers Cable president and CEO Edward Rogers speaks during the Rogers annual shareholders meeting in Toronto in May 2004. (Aaron Harris/Canadian Press)

Edward Rogers, son of the late cable-TV and cellphone magnate Ted Rogers, will take over control and direction of Rogers Communications Inc., the company said Monday.

Edward Rogers will be aided by his sister, Melinda Rogers. Both are executives with Rogers Communications.

Their father, who died on Dec. 2, controlled the company through the 90.9 per cent of the class A voting stock he owned through a holding company.

The voting stock, and 7.5 per cent of the non-voting class B shares, have been put into an entity called the Rogers Control Trust, the company said.

Edward Rogers has been named chair of the trust, and the chair "will act as the representative of the controlling shareholder in dealing with [Rogers Communications] on the company's long-term strategy and direction."

A vice-chair, who is Melinda Rogers, will assist the chair.

Both are accountable to an advisory committee, which includes members of the Rogers family, trustees of the family trust and other people.

Rogers class B shares, which are widely held, rose one cent to $33.71 in noon TSX trading. The 52-week range is $29 to $46.46.

Rogers Communications' cellphone business is its biggest and fastest-growing unit. In the quarter ended Sept. 30, wireless revenue jumped to $1.73 billion from $1.44 billion in the comparable 2007 quarter. Cable revenue was $961 million, up from $899 million. Revenue of the media division, which includes magazines, was under $400 million.

Profit was $495 million (78 cents a diluted share), compared with $269 million (42 cents) for the comparable quarter.