Pays $1.3 billion plus debt for media company
BCE, the parent company of Bell Canada, is buying 100 per cent of CTV for $1.3 billion plus debt, a total outlay of $3.2-billion. The deal splits CTV Globemedia into two companies, with Bell taking the CTV network, which includes dozens of specialty channels like BNN and TSN. The Thomson-owned company Woodbridge will take over most of Globemedia, which owns The Globe and Mail newspaper, with BCE retaining a smaller 15 per cent share. The president and CEO of CTV Globemedia, Ivan Fecan, said CTV’s content will help Bell and CTV grow. “In today’s digital age, it is extremely important to be a part of a vertically integrated company that can take advantage of content over multiple screens,” said Fecan, who added that the deal will “accelerate Bell’s video growth across all three screens – mobile, online and TV.”