An Ontario judge has rubberstamped the sale of Canwest Global Communication Corp’s TV assets to Shaw Communications Inc.
The seal of approval comes after Canwest’s unsecured creditors voted on Monday in favour of the deal by a margin of 83%.
In May, Shaw agreed to buy 100% of Canwest’s over-the-air and specialty broadcast business, including Global TV, HGTV and Slice, for $2 billion.
Weeks later, the deal was tweaked to include a last-minute $11 million payout to a group of disgruntled shareholders led by former Canwest Chief Executive Leonard Asper.
"This is another important step forward with respect to the CMI entities emerging from the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act process and we look forward to closing the transaction once all necessary regulatory reviews have been concluded,” Jim Shaw, chief executive and vice-chair of Shaw, said in a release Wednesday.
Approvals by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and the Competition Bureau are still required. A public CRTC hearing is slated for Sept. 20.
Canwest put its newspaper and television businesses up for sale earlier this year after being forced to file for bankruptcy protection following an aggressive expansion plan that racked up billions in debt.
Earlier this month, Canwest’s former newspaper unit emerged from creditor protection under the banner Postmedia Network Inc., after a group of investors led by National Post publisher Paul Godfrey bought the chain for $1.1 billion.
