- Bell Media acquires eight specialty and pay TV services, two
over-the-air TV stations, 77 radio stations, and the Astral Out-of-Home
advertising division -
- New executive leadership team announced -
- New initiatives include a French-language Discovery-branded channel,
French-language specialties added to GO product roll-out, and content integration across TV and radio -
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MONTRÉAL AND TORONTO, July 5, 2013 /CNW/ - Astral Media Inc. (Astral)
today officially joins with Bell Media following the completion of the
$3.2-billion acquisition of Astral by BCE Inc. (Bell).
"Our union with Astral is full of opportunity for our audiences, our
industry, and our team members," said Kevin Crull, President, Bell
Media. "Our objective is to create content and build brands that
entertain, inform, engage, and inspire audiences through the platforms
of their choice. We will deliver on our commitment to provide
world-class content to our listeners and viewers, as we make
significant investments in the Canadian broadcasting system."
New Leadership Team
Reflecting the company's new composition of TV, radio, out-of-home, and
digital properties in French and English, Crull today introduced his
senior leadership team that includes both Astral and Bell Media
executives:
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Jacques Parisien, President, National Specialty and Pay TV, Radio, and
Out-of-Home
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Charles Benoît, President, Television and Radio, Québec
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Rick Brace, President, Specialty Channels and CTV Production
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Chris Gordon, President, Bell Media Radio and Local TV
-
Luc Quétel, President, Astral Out-of-Home
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Luc Sabbatini, President, Bell Media Sales
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Phil King, President, CTV Programming and Sports
-
Bart Yabsley, Executive Vice-President, Content Sales and Distribution
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Wendy Freeman, President, CTV News
-
Adam Ashton, Senior Vice-President, Business Operations
As previously announced, Astral President and CEO Ian Greenberg will now
join the BCE Board of Directors.
Opportunities Realized
With the transaction's close today, Bell Media is moving quickly to
deliver the benefits to viewers and listeners it committed to during
the acquisition process, especially in Québec. Among the first new
initiatives to be announced:
-
New French Specialty Channel
A new Discovery-branded French-language specialty channel will launch by
the end of Q4, building on the success of Bell Media's Discovery brands
in the English-language market, and leveraging Astral's expertise in
operating, programming, and marketing French specialties.
-
Bell Media's TV Everywhere Expands to French channels
Bell Media's roll-out of its GO TV Everywhere product suite will expand to include Super Écran, Ztélé,
Canal D, Canal Vie, and VRAK.TV in early 2014, moving these channels
beyond the TV screen and providing subscribers with online access to
live and on-demand programming on the platform of their choice. The
channels will be supported with individual websites and stand-alone
apps for authenticated live and on-demand viewing.
-
New Listening and Viewing Content
Bell Media will immediately implement content integration across its new
brands and platforms, providing additional viewing and listening
content and strengthening individual brands. To start, CTV National
News segments will appear on news/talk radio, including CJAD 800 in
Montreal and NewsTalk 1010 in Toronto; RDS sports updates will be heard
on Radio NRJ stations; and ETALK and The Movie Network will also share
content.
Transaction Details
Bell acquired all Class A Non-Voting Shares of Astral for $50 per share,
for a total consideration of approximately $2.8 billion. Bell also
acquired all Class B Subordinate Voting Shares for $54.83 per share,
for a total consideration of approximately $151 million, and all
Special Shares for a total consideration of $50 million. The Astral
Class A Shares and Class B Shares will be delisted from the Toronto
Stock Exchange at the end of trading on July 8, 2013.
As previously announced, the acquisition of Astral will be entirely
satisfied with cash and Bell has deposited a sufficient amount of cash
with Computershare Investor Services Inc. to enable it to make payments
to Astral shareholders pursuant to the terms of the arrangement.
The Letters of Transmittal have been mailed to registered shareholders
of Astral and are also available on Astral's website at www.astral.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Letters of Transmittal explain how registered Astral shareholders
can deposit and obtain payment for their Astral shares. Registered
Astral shareholders must return their duly completed Letters of
Transmittal to Computershare Investor Services Inc. in order to receive
the consideration to which they are entitled for their Astral shares.
Non-registered shareholders should carefully follow the instructions
from the broker or other financial intermediary that holds Astral
shares on their behalf.
Bell plans to update its 2013 financial guidance to reflect the Astral
acquisition when it delivers BCE results for the second quarter (Q2) of
2013 on August 8, 2013.
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made in this news release including, but not limited
to, statements relating to certain benefits expected to result from the
acquisition of Astral, our plans, commitments, initiatives and
objectives, and other statements that are not historical facts are
forward-looking. Forward-looking statements, by their very nature, are
subject to inherent risks and uncertainties and are based on several
assumptions, such as the timely and successful integration of Astral's
operations, procedures and personnel, which give rise to the
possibility that actual results or events could differ materially from
our expectations expressed in or implied by such forward-looking
statements. As a result, we cannot guarantee that any forward-looking
statement will materialize and you are cautioned not to place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements contained in this news release describe
our expectations at the date of this news release and, accordingly, are
subject to change after such date. Except as may be required by
Canadian securities laws, we do not undertake any obligation to update
or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this news
release, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise. For additional information with respect to certain of the
assumptions and risks relating to the above-mentioned forward-looking
statements, please refer to BCE Inc.'s 2012 annual MD&A dated March 7,
2013 and BCE Inc.'s First Quarter MD&A dated May 8, 2013, filed with
the Canadian securities commissions (available at www.sedar.com) and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (available at www.sec.gov). These documents are also available on BCE Inc.'s website at www.bce.ca.
About Bell Media
With passion and an unrelenting commitment to excellence, Bell Media
creates content and builds brands that entertain, inform, engage, and
inspire audiences through the platforms of their choice. Bell Media is
Canada's premier multimedia company with leading assets in television,
radio, out-of-home advertising, and digital media. Bell Media owns 30
local television stations led by CTV, Canada's #1 television network;
34 specialty channels, including TSN and RDS, Canada's most-watched
specialty channels in English and French; four pay TV services,
including The Movie Network and Super Écran; and is managing
shareholder of premium pay-per-view service Viewers Choice Canada. Bell
Media is also Canada's largest radio broadcaster, with 107 licensed
radio stations in 55 markets across Canada. Bell Media owns Astral
Out-of-Home, one of Canada's most dynamic and innovative out-of-home
advertising companies. Bell Media also operates more than 200 websites
and apps, delivers TV Everywhere with its innovative GO video streaming
services, including TMN GO and Bravo GO, and owns Dome Productions
Inc., a multi-platform production company. Bell Media is part of BCE
Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company. For
more on Bell Media, please visit www.bellmedia.ca.
SOURCE: Bell Media
