Canadian telecoms group BCE, the owner of telco Bell Canada, has agreed to acquire Montreal-based media group Astral Media in a deal worth C$3.38bn (US$3.41bn).
Bell stated it will buy all of Astral’s issued and outstanding shares.
This will include…
Canadian telecoms group BCE, the owner of telco Bell Canada, has agreed to acquire Montreal-based media group Astral Media in a deal worth C$3.38bn (US$3.41bn).
Bell stated it will buy all of Astral’s issued and outstanding shares.
This will include the acquisition of all of Astral’s Class A non-voting shares for C$50 (US$50.4) per share or C$2.8bn (US$2.82bn) in total.
Bell claims that this share price represented a premium of 39% on the volume-weighted average closing share price for Astral on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) for the last five trading days.
The telco added that the enterprise value represents an approximate multiple of 10x estimated 2012 EBITDA.
The deal will be funded through cash and BCE common equity.
BCE is being advised on the deal by BMO Capital Markets and CIBC World Markets.
Astral’s financial adviser is RBC Capital Markets, while National Bank Financial is acting as the independent financial adviser for a special committee of independent directors, which recommended the deal to Astral’s board.
The deal is still subject to court, shareholder and regulatory approvals, with Astral shareholders set to vote on 25 May.
Astral offers 22 television services, including 13 French-language channels. It also provides 84 radio stations and 100 websites and “digital media properties”.
Bell said in the statement that the acquisition would strengthen its competitive position in the media marketplace of Quebec and would provide support for its strategy of investment in broadband content and networks.
This deal continues a trend of Bell acquiring in the Canadian media market.
In December last year, Bell and another Canadian telco, Rogers Communications, snapped up a 75% stake in Canadian entertainment company Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) for C$1.066bn (US$1.075bn) in total.
Earlier in 2011, Bell also acquired the broadcaster CTVglobemedia for C$1.3bn (US$1.31bn).
