TORONTO – Corus Entertainment shareholder The Catalyst Capital Group is calling for full disclosure from the Shaw family into the process behind the proposed sale of Shaw Media to Corus.
In an open letter posted Friday, Catalyst questioned whether the minority shareholders of both Shaw and Corus were protected, and if so, wants the company to prove it.
“As the deal is a related party transaction, minority shareholders in both Corus and Shaw are entitled to know the asset was sold via a fair, competitive process – not a closed process in which Corus was forced to bid against itself”, reads…
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TORONTO – The pitched PR battle between Corus Entertainment and shareholder The Catalyst Capital Group shows no signs of abating any time soon.
The latest salvo came late Thursday, when independent proxy advisory research firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) reconfirmed its previous recommendation that Corus shareholders vote in favour of its proposed acquisition of Shaw Media.
In its updated analysis, ISS said that it has conducted a thorough review of the dissident’s (i.e. Catalyst) concerns, and reaffirmed its support for the strategic rationale of the acquisition.
“Even the dissident does not appear to have questioned the long-term strategic merits of the transaction”, reads…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications and Calgary Transit have announced six new locations for the public Wi-Fi servicing CTrain stations within that city’s downtown corridor.
The new locations include 3 Street, 4 Street, 6 Street, 7 Street, 8 Street, and Downtown West-Kerby.
Since the launch of public Wi-Fi in 2014, hundreds of thousands of residents and visitors to Calgary have enjoyed public Wi-Fi at City facilities. The most popular location, based on guest connections, is the City Hall CTrain Station, with over 36,000 users connecting to the ShawGuest hotspot per month.
"Calgarians love Wi-Fi and are using their personal devices to connect…
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CALGARY – Bell Media’s television streaming service CraveTV is now available to Shaw Cable and Shaw Direct customers for $6 a month.
Shaw customers may access CraveTV through Shaw's FreeRange TV app or by downloading the CraveTV app, both available from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. The service is also available on platforms including Apple TV, Chromecast, Microsoft Windows 8.1, through select Samsung Smart TVs and Blu-ray players, as well as online at CraveTV.ca.
"By bringing CraveTV together with shomi and live television on-the-go, we have made FreeRange TV the most compelling television viewing app available to…
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TORONTO – Corus Entertainment is once again disputing “distorted information, obfuscation and misstatements” allegedly made by company shareholder The Catalyst Capital Group over Corus’ proposed acquisition of Shaw Media.
In a news release late Tuesday, Corus strongly rejected proposals circulated by Catalyst, including a proposal to terminate the outstanding Corus subscription receipts offering in lieu of a hypothetical rights offering backstopped by Catalyst. Corus said that Catalyst’s proposals are not in the interests of Corus shareholders and that “the hypothetical rights offering proposed by them is both unworkable and self-interested”.
“Corus’ widely publicized subscription receipts offering was broadly and fully marketed…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications has officially closed its acquisition of Mid-Bowline Group Corp. and its wholly-owned subsidiary Wind Mobile.
Wind serves approximately 940,000 wireless subscribers across Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta with 50 MHz of spectrum in each of these regions. Shaw said that it will continue to invest in the wireless network and service offering, including the upgrade of its network to 4G LTE.
"We know Canadians want options when it comes to their wireless provider and, in time, customers can expect to see integrated offerings that provide them with the best value for their dollar in quality of coverage…
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OTTAWA – Shaw Direct has received CRTC approval to modify its ‘skinny basic’ lineup of TV channels, specifically the local television stations that must be included.
The Commission said Monday that it accepts, with modifications, an application by Star Choice Television Network Incorporated for an exception to section 45.1 of the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations as it relates to its national DTH BDU Shaw Direct.
Star Choice submitted that the CRTC’s proposed basic service was too limiting for Shaw Direct and could not be achieved with its current system, noting that its infrastructure was never designed to deliver the multitude of…
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MP fumes his local anchors are now in Toronto
OTTAWA – The ongoing local television struggles were the topic of the day at the Heritage Committee this week as it kicked off its study on the media and local communities (just three short weeks after the CRTC did the exact same thing).
Officials from the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Competition Bureau and the CRTC were at the inaugural meeting to provide MPs with background on the challenges facing the industry.
The nearly two-hour long session was mainly about giving and receiving information on the struggles of local TV, including…
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Rejects newspaper report on investor Catalyst Group concerns
TORONTO – Late Tuesday, Corus Entertainment slammed a newspaper report which quoted one of the company’s shareholders saying it had serious concerns over disclosure of information to minority shareholders currently deciding whether or not to support the $2.65 billion purchase of Shaw Media.
Corus issued a press release saying the National Post story featured “a number of misleading claims by The Catalyst Capital Group (“Catalyst”) regarding Corus’ proposed acquisition of Shaw Media Inc. (“Shaw Media”).”
The release then re-stated the company’s belief that the acquisition is “a game-changing opportunity to…
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GATINEAU – Many of the 40 companies and individuals who filed interventions in response to the CRTC’s call for comments on the proposed $2.65 billion purchase of Shaw Media Inc. by Corus Entertainment say at the very least the CRTC should hold a public hearing on it – while some said that the sheer size of the deal and the increased concentration of media under one roof means the Commission must apply its tangible benefits policy, too.
The Commission’s tangible benefits policy usually calls for 10% of the value of any TV…
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