Ian Greenberg is topping the charts these days, having guided his company, Astral Media Inc., to the No. 1 spot among Canada's radio station proprietors - thanks to a $1.08-billion purchase of Standard Broadcasting Corp. Ltd. For Mr. Greenberg, 65, the recently completed Standard deal is about more than just a big number - it is a case study in the hard discipline and thorough preparation he has imposed on the family company in the 12 years since he assumed the CEO's job. He talks about what he brings to the table and what lies ahead.
What's the key to doing a deal like the Standard buyout?
We work hard preparing files on every possible acquisition that could come to us. So when they appear, we have our minds around them already.
When you've done the homework in a cool, calm, collected manner, you know what numbers are reasonable and what ones are not.
So when you get to it, if the price is way outside that boundary, you know it can't work. That allows you to say, 'As much as I may have liked a particular acquisition, it doesn't work for our shareholders.'
So you have a price number ...
On every player in the three businesses we're in [specialty and pay TV, radio and outdoor advertising] The ones we've analyzed.
But a lot of people think
media consolidation has
run its course.
Probably in the short term, I would agree with that. But the fact of life is we're in this business for the long haul. Whether it is six months or a year or two years from today, things will happen. Like we were prepared for Standard, we want to be prepared for other possibilities that come up.
Do you have a number for
Corus Entertainment?
We have a number for every one in the business. It's not about having a number for the sake of a number. It's about how we will finance it. The Standard deal was all thought out in advance. Once the price was set, we didn't have to waste much time on how we would finance it. We decided at that price level, it would be mostly debt, as opposed to equity. So we have a number for everyone and we pretty well know how it could work if we live within those pricing parameters.
In the fever of a takeover, have you been tempted to go higher?
There was an asset that people knew I coveted my entire life ...
Was that CHUM, which you lost to CTVglobemedia?
Right. So it was a fine company, except we knew there was a certain financial limit we could go to. If we didn't have that discipline, we could have gone higher and it possibly wouldn't have been accretive to us [in earnings] in terms of the synergies we could have accomplished. As much as I wanted it personally, we didn't do it.
I couldn't give you better proof to say we are disciplined in that respect.
Is that what you bring to the game - discipline?
That's part of it. Also, I'm probably more involved than the average CEO in operations. This business is my life. It's the only job I ever had.
So I know the operations well and when I talk to a division president, it's a two-way conversation as opposed to just listening to his report and having to rely on whatever he tells me.
So we have a good exchange - very open.
I've been in this game since 1961, and it's the only company I will ever work for in my entire life.
So I live it, eat it, breathe it with the people.
Do you have balance in
your life?
Oh yes, I'm married with three married children, seven grandkids and that gives me tremendous balance. Also, I'm very seldom in the city on weekends. I'm always in my country home - at Magog in the Eastern Townships.
When I work, I work. I very seldom go out for lunch, I'm never on the phone with friends. It's work - in a nice way. On the other hand, when I leave for the weekend, other than being available for emergencies, I'm gone. I can't remember very often calling any of my executives on a weekend. I respect their time as much as I respect my own.
Do you have a lot of hobbies?
I just love being in the country, whether going for a walk, riding in my boat or sitting around the pool with my grandchildren.
What I love about Lake Memphremagog is it's very long. It's unusual to find a lake within an hour and 10 minutes of Montreal where you can get on a boat and go one direction for over two hours.
Now there is a beautiful new golf club. I never played golf in my life, and I'm taking lessons.
Who are your business heroes?
Jack Welch is one.
[Former Brascan strategist]Jack Cockwell is another. Through all his personal trials and tribulations, he always had time for me and the company.
Another hero is Ted Rogers. At his age, most men are playing golf and retired and taking the sun and he is still the driving force and strategic vision behind his company.
Most businessmen who have built that kind of empire haven't had the kind of setbacks Ted has had, medically and business-wise, and gone on to great things. And he is a guy who thinks about his industry and his country, and lives by the rules.
Will you still be doing this at 74, like Mr. Rogers?
I hope so - if I can continue having the same amount of enjoyment and fun, with a great bunch of colleagues, and we're able to produce results for the shareholders.
We always have to go on the premise that we will have the health ... to do it. Why not?
How are you looking on those scores?
Looking pretty good.
So you're not going to retire?
I have no plans to retire.
Will you be here as long as you're alive?
No, no. Remember I have to be healthy, successful and having fun.
We have a succession plan at all levels - every senior manager and president of a unit.
I know everyone else's plan and the only people who know mine is my board of directors.
We meet on that once a year, talk about it and the plan is put on paper. The board is certainly knowledgeable and comfortable that, should I get hit with a bus, this company will continue.
What do you lose sleep over?
I sleep very well. But we always worry. You should never become completely blasé. A little stress is good. Absolutely, it keeps you on your toes, it keeps you thinking.
Is the Standard deal the
defining moment for Astral?
People always used to ask me, 'Where do you see yourself growing?' Frankly it is only in our three core businesses. As the opportunities present themselves in any of those core businesses, that will be the most important acquisition we make and the one I want to make.
But it has to work for us from the point of view of being able to integrate it and being financially accretive. There is no point in having a big ego, making a great acquisition and it's dilutive to earnings.
Ian Greenberg
Title: President and CEO, Astral Media Inc., Montreal.
Born: 1942, in Montreal.
Education: Graduate of Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program.
Career highlights
1961: One of four brothers who founded Astral. It began as a photography business, before diversifying into film production, distribution and other areas.
1981: Release of the movie Porky's, the largest grossing Canadian-made film; Porky's gave Astral a measure of financial stability, preparing for move into pay-TV.
1996: Harold Greenberg, Astral's long-time CEO, died; younger brother Ian appointed president and CEO.
Ian shed numerous assets, narrowing focus to pay- and specialty TV; radio; and outdoor ads.
2007: Astral bought Standard Broadcasting Corp. Ltd. for $1.08-billion to become largest radio station operator with 81 stations across the country.