OTTAWA (dpa-AFX) - BCE Inc. (BCE, BCE.TO) announced Friday that Bell is acquiring Montréal-based Astral Media Inc. (ACM_A.TO, ACM_B.TO) for about $3.38 billion, including net debt of $380 million. The acquiring business includes Astral's specialty and pay television channels, radio stations, digital media properties and out-of-home advertising platforms in Québec and across the rest of Canada.
Bell would buy all Class A Non-Voting Shares of Astral for $50 per share, representing a premium of 39% based on Astral's volume-weighted average closing share price on the TSX for the last five trading days, for a total consideration of nearly $2.8 billion. Moreover, Bell would also purchase all Class B Subordinate Voting Shares for $54.83 per share, for about $151 million, and all Special Shares for some $50 million.
The transaction would be funded with a combination of cash and BCE common equity, with Bell retaining the right to replace shares with cash, in whole or in part, at closing.
The Astral team would join the Bell Media business unit, which was formed in April 2011 following Bell's purchase of CTV. With the addition of Astral, Bell Media would become a $3-billion national media leader with annual EBITDA of over $850 million.
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