MEDIA REPORTER
If CanWest Global Communications Corp. is looking for a white knight investor, it won't be Ian Greenberg.
The chief executive officer of Astral Media Inc. put to rest any lingering talk in the industry yesterday that his company might seek to invest in Global Television. When asked by analysts if Astral would make a strategic investment in Global to get an inside track on buying specialty channels such as HGTV and the Food Network down the road, Mr. Greenberg was blunt: "At this point, the quick answer is no."
CanWest, which has put its national TV network and other assets into a court-directed financial restructuring under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, is seeking a new investor to inject $50-million into the company. The search for that investor will begin in the next few weeks, with RBC Dominion Securities Inc. shopping the potential deal to a list of Canadian media companies and investment funds.
Astral has one of the more attractive balance sheets in a broadcasting sector that has been battered by the recession, prompting rumours it would be courted as an investor, since Mr. Greenberg covets CanWest's specialty TV channels, which are not part of the CCAA filing.
Instead, Astral will bide its time to see if CanWest and its financial partner on the specialty channels, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., eventually puts those properties up for sale.
"Should the channels become available, they certainly are of interest to us," Mr. Greenberg said.
Astral, which is the largest radio broadcaster in Canada, has weathered the economic storm better than some larger media players due to its mix of cable and pay-television assets such as HBO Canada, which collect subscriber fees and are less reliant on advertising.
However, the company has not been able to avoid the wave of asset writedowns washing over the industry. Astral announced a $317.5-million non-cash writedown on its radio properties yesterday, resulting in a $273.6-million loss in the fourth quarter, compared to a $39-million profit last year. Without the non-cash writedown, profit for the quarter was $43.9-million. Revenue for the quarter fell 5 per cent to $219.4-million.
Astral (ACM.A-T)
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