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Rogers Communications faces a tough antitrust regulator and a July 31 deadline to close its C$20 billion ($15.5 billion) acquisition of Calgary-based Shaw Communications.

Shares of Rogers Communications Inc slipped on Monday as analysts voiced concerns over increased risk to the Canadian telecom operator's C$20 billion deal for rival Shaw Communications following a 19-hour outage.

Montreal-based Quebecor Inc, through its unit Videotron, will intervene in the antitrust review of Rogers Communications Inc's C$20 billion ($15.5 billion) purchase of Shaw Communications Inc, according to a notice posted Friday on the website of Canada's competition tribunal.

Canada's Alberta province will intervene in competition tribunal proceedings of a proposed C$20 billion ($15.33 billion) merger between Rogers Communications Inc and Shaw Communications Inc because it will impact the provincial economy, Alberta's attorney general said in a notice on Tuesday.

Canada's antitrust authority, Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications will begin two-day negotiations on Monday to discuss possible remedies to the contested C$20 billion ($15.5 billion) takeover of Shaw by Rogers, as the July deadline for the deal closure looms.

There's always a merger arb spread blowing up somewhere. The key is to wait patiently for a spread to get really wide.

(Corrects to say Canada's competition bureau would also join mediation process in headline, first paragraph)

Canada's competition bureau is expected to ask Rogers Communications Inc to sell Shaw Communications Inc's cellular business to overcome the antitrust concerns presented by Rogers' C$20 billion ($15.4 billion) acquisition of Shaw, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.

Shares in Shaw Communications and Rogers Communications rallied on Monday on expectations that the sale of Shaw's mobile unit will eventually pave the way for regulatory approval of the Canadian telecom operators' C$20 billion ($15.4 billion) purchase deal.

Canada's anti-trust regulator said on Friday that the merger of Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications should not go ahead on grounds that the deal poses threats to competition in Canada and the efficiencies claimed by the companies were not enough to offset the anti competitive nature of the transaction.