MONTREAL — Videotron announced Monday it has reached an agreement to acquire Télédistribution Amos (Cable Amos) and its network. The acquisition is expected to close in the spring of 2020 and is subject to regulatory approval. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Videotron said in a news release it expects the Abitibi-Témiscamingue residents living in Cable Amos’s service area will be able to join Videotron’s subscriber rolls in the coming months. This will also give Videotron a local network in a region in which it plans to roll out third party service on Bell Canada’s Cablevision du Nord, as we have reported.
Cable Amos currently serves Amos (pop. 12,600, about an hour north of Val-d’Or), and smaller communities Senneterre, Barraute, Lebel-sur-Quévillon, Belcourt, Ste-Gertrude-Manneville, Launay, Trécesson, Berry, Champneuf, La Motte, Landrienne, La Corne, Preissac, St-Felix-de-Dalquier, St-Mathieu-d’Harricana, St-Marc-de-Figuery, La Morandière, Rochebeaucourt, Guyenne, St-Dominique-du-Rosaire, Pikogan and Rivière-Héva. Residents covered by Cable Amos’s wireline network will be able to experience Helix, Videotron’s new home entertainment and management platform, the company said.
“We’re serious about establishing ourselves in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, as the transaction we are announcing today shows,” said Jean-François Pruneau, president and CEO of Videotron, in the news release. “As we have been saying, we are evaluating growth opportunities in the region and will seize those that are promising. We are excited about offering our services to local residents.”
Assuming the acquisition is approved, Videotron’s teams will meet with Abitibi residents living in Cable Amos’s service area to present Videotron’s products and start taking installation appointments, the company said.
Videotron’s release said it was already planning to offer its products and services in the rest of the region by riding on the Cablevision network. With this Amos acquisition, Videotron will be able to connect an even greater number of Abitibi-Témiscamingue residents, the company added.
According to the news release, Cable Amos management was quoted as saying: “We are proud to pass the torch to Videotron. This was not a random choice. We are convinced that Videotron is the company best able to create healthy competition in the region. Customer needs are changing and only Videotron is in a position to respond to the new realities.”
