Telecoms and DTH giant Bell Canada Enterprises is a step closer to acquiring Quebecois broadcaster Astral Media after agreeing to sell TV and radio assets.
BCE said Canada’s Competition Bureau cleared the C$3.38bn deal after it agreed to divest the…
Telecoms and DTH giant Bell Canada Enterprises is a step closer to acquiring Quebecois broadcaster Astral Media after agreeing to sell TV and radio assets.
BCE said Canada’s Competition Bureau cleared the C$3.38bn deal after it agreed to divest the assets to avoid competition concerns, although it still requires approval from the country’s CRTC telecoms regulator.
The CRTC blocked an original version of the deal in October, but BCE hopes a revised merger plan submitted a month after this rejection will resolve market dominance issues.
To get the deal past the Competition Bureau, BCE agreed to sell a number of Astral’s TV channels and radio stations to local broadcaster Corus Entertainment for just over C$400m. It has also initiated an auction process for other TV and radio assets.
BCE said the assets it intends to retain represent around 77% of Astral’s EBITDA. Ultimately, it claims the divestitures will leave the merged group with a French language viewing share of 23%, compared with competitor Quebecor’s 30.5%.
Bell CEO George Cope said: “This positive news from the Competition Bureau is a major step forward in uniting Astral and Bell Media and delivering on our promise to grow investment and competition in Canadian broadcasting.
“This decision preserves the tremendous value the transaction represents to consumers, the Canadian media community, and Astral and Bell shareholders.”
The asset sales show how keen BCE is to push through the merger that it originally announced in March 2012, but getting the green light from the CRTC remains uncertain. The regulator is reportedly due to reveal further details of the resubmitted BCE/Astral merger plan later this week, when it sets a date for public hearings on the matter.
As well as owning its own television and radio services, BCE owns a national broadcasting distributor, is Canada’s largest ISP, its second largest wireless service provider, and is the country’s third-largest television distributor.
Originally targeting a closing date in 2012, BCE is now aiming to complete the transaction by 1 June 2013.
