A 24-station Ontario radio network that includes Moose FM is being acquired by Vista Broadcast Group, which currently operates in western Canada.
The parent of Vista Radio will buy Haliburton Broadcasting Group Inc. for an undisclosed price, subject to approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
Haliburton operates primarily in Central Ontario but also as far north as Timmins, Ont., and as far south as the Niagara region.
Vista was founded in 2004 by its senior management team and currently has 38 broadcast licences serving 50 communities in British Columbia, Alberta and the Northwest Territories.
It’s making the move into Ontario with financial backing from Westerkirk Capital, which will buy all the shares of Vista Broadcast Group Inc. that aren’t owned by Vista’s management.
Vista Radio CEO and president Margot Micallef said Haliburton’s business in Ontario provides a base for further expansion.
“With our strong management team and our new partnership with Westerkirk we are well positioned to see our vision for Vista become a reality. Quite simply, we want to become the pre-eminent radio broadcaster in Canada,” Micallef said.
Haliburton was founded in 1997 by its president and chief executive officer, Christopher Grossman.
“I could not have picked a better successor to continue the legacy we started at Haliburton,” Grossman said in a statement.
“Vista cares in the same way as Haliburton about its employees, listeners and advertisers. Vista will take our radio business to the next level and that will create tremendous opportunities for our employees.”
