Bell/Astral II deal closing extended to July 31

MONTREAL – Surprising no one, BCE announced Friday it has extended its takeover offer of Astral Media to July 31, 2013 as it awaits regulatory approval for the transaction. The original expiry date to close the deal was June 1. The Competition Bureau approved Bell’s second iteration of its proposal to purchase Astral back in March, which was followed by a week-long CRTC hearing earlier this month to review the new proposal. Bell included a number of revised provisions in its second submission regarding the Astral deal, including new regulatory safeguards and a number of divestitures. The CRTC has yet...