Bell Canada to acquire Astral Media for $3.4 billion

Bell Canada, the country's largest telecommunications company, yesterday struck a deal to buy Astral Media, the owner of cable television channels including HBO Canada, for C$3.38 billion ($3.4 billion) to expand into the Canadian media market.

The move comes after Bell Canada acquired CTV, Canada's largest private-sector broadcaster, in 2010 for $1.3 billion.

Bell Canada will acquire all Class A non-voting shares of Astral for $50 per share, a premium of 39 per cent based on Astral's average closing share price for the last five trading days and also acquire all Class B subordinate voting shares for $54.83 per share, and all special shares for $50 million.

The total transaction is valued at approximately $3.38 billion, including net debt of $380 million, which Bell Canada fund with a combination of cash and stock.

Founded in1880, Montreal-based Astral Media is the largest communications company in Québec.

It operates 22 television services that include HBO Canada and The Movie Network, as well as top specialty brands such as Canal Vie, MusiquePlus, Teletoon, Family and Disney Junior.