OTTAWA – DHX Media received CRTC approval Thursday to proceed with its purchase of Family, Disney XD, and the English- and French-language Disney Junior channels from Bell Media.
The company said that the acquisition has now met key regulatory requirements for completion, having also received approval from the Competition Bureau last December, and is expected to close on or about July 31, 2014. First announced last November, the deal comes as part of Bell Media's requirement to divest some properties to comply with regulatory conditions attached to its acquisition of Astral Media.
As part of its approval, the Commission revised the value of the transaction to $173 million. It also approved an application to amend the conditions of licence for Family Channel, allowing it to source up to 40% of its Canadian programming schedule, exclusive of filler programming, from related companies.
"Family is the number one channel across all kids' audiences in Canada, and we are delighted that CRTC approval puts us on track to close the acquisition of this preeminent outlet, along with the highly successful Disney XD and the Disney Junior channels," said DHX Media CEO Michael Donovan, in a statement. "With the largest independent library of children's television series in the world, our primary focus at DHX is providing entertainment for kids and families. The acquisition of these high-quality kids' brands complements and enhances all areas of our business and positions us for our next stage of growth. We look forward to welcoming the teams from these channels to DHX."
Halifax-based DHX Media owns, markets and distributes over 10,000 episodes of entertainment programming worldwide and licenses its owned properties through its dedicated consumer products business.
