Shaw to Pick Up Goldman’s Canwest Stake

WINNIPEG: The restructured Canwest’s television division is set to become a subsidiary of Shaw Communications, following a previously announced agreement with debt holders as well as a new deal to purchase Goldman Sachs Capital Partners interest in the specialty channels business for $700 million.

Shaw had previously received court approval to take control of Canwest’s television division following completion of the bankruptcy restructuring, but has been in negotiations with Goldman Sachs about its equity interest (acquired when it teamed with Canwest to purchase Alliance Atlantis’s specialty channels in 2007). The deals announced today end litigation over Shaw’s takeover of the company.

Canwest says that bondholders will be bought out for $440 million, with an additional $38 million for unsecured creditors. For Shaw, the total purchase price is about C$2 billion. It gives the cable company control of a portfolio of conventional and specialty networks, including the flagship Global TV.