An Ontario Superior Court judge has given the go-ahead to sell the television assets of Canwest Global Communications Corp. to Shaw Communications Inc.
The approval on Wednesday marks a major step in handing the reins over to Shaw executives, and is one of several key steps required to completely transfer Canwest’s Global TV and specialty channel operations into the hands of Shaw.
Calgary-based Shaw will next take the $2 billion transaction to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission for a public hearing scheduled for Sept. 20.
The company also requires approval from the Competition Bureau.
“Once approval is received we will be in a position to close the transaction and begin focusing on the operations and integration of restructured Canwest,” Shaw chief executive Jim Shaw in a release.
Canwest filed for creditor protection last fall after buckling under billions of dollars in debt. The company was forced to sell both its newspaper assets and TV divisions in two separate transactions earlier this year.
The newspapers, which included the company’s flagship National Post, were bought by a group led by Post chief executive Paul Godfrey for $1.1 billion. Since then, the division has emerged from protection as Postmedia Network Inc.
