CRTC should reject Corus' recapitalization plan, minority shareholders say - BNN Bloomberg

Corus Entertainment has completed its recapitalization transaction. The operating company is now owned by a newly created Corus parent company.

Maryann Turcke, the former president of Bell Media and former Chief Operating Officer of the National Football League (NFL) is the new Chair of the Board of Directors of Corus Entertainment. Corus Entertainment announced at close of business Thursday that it has completed its recapitalization transaction and is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Corus Entertainment Holdings. The CRTC gave its stamp of approval to the debt-for-equity recapitalization plan last month, which sees 99% ownership of the company transferred to its lenders to avert further financial pressure, cutting its third-party debt by over $500 million.

The Corus logo at Corus Quay in Toronto is photographed on Friday, June 22, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin. Corus Entertainment Inc. has completed its previously announced recapitalization transaction, marking the final step in a restructuring plan approved by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission last month.

Open this photo in gallery:Corus Entertainment’s corporate head office on Toronto's waterfront. Fred Lum/The Globe and MailCorus Entertainment Inc. CJR-B-T has completed its recapitalization plan and named its new board of directors, who will aim to strengthen the ailing media company’s balance sheet as it deals with declining revenue and weak advertising demand. The board faces the challenge of turning around a company affected by numerous rounds of job cuts and operating amid industrywide pressures on traditional broadcasting. Meanwhile, Corus has been forced to compete with streaming giants for viewers’ attention. The company struck an agreement with debtholders last year in order to maintain operations as it struggled with a heavy debt load and liquidity constraints. The restructuring, approved by the telecom regulator in September, saw some of the company’s lenders exchange approximately $500-million in debt for a 99-per cent ownership interest in new parent company Corus Entertainment Holdings Inc., which will manage the company’s 40 television stations and 36 radio stations.

Sister Group, Jane Featherstone and Elisabeth Murdoch‘s ever-growing transatlantic powerhouse, has entered the branded entertainment business by forging a strategic partnership with London-based company Common Interest, in which it has also taken a minority investment. The partnership with Common Interest, the communications and entertainment group founded by Anthony Freedman, brings together what it describes as “brand creativity, entertainment execution and access to world-class production talent.”

The CRTC has approved a major debt-for-equity recapitalization plan for Corus Entertainment, transferring 99% ownership of the company to its lenders to avert further financial pressure. The regulatory approval allows newly-created parent company, NewCo, to acquire Corus and its broadcast assets, ending control by the Shaw Family Living Trust. Under terms of the transaction, lenders will exchange approximately $500 million in debt for equity, with Richmond Hill’s Canso Investment Counsel Ltd. emerging as the single largest shareholder with roughly 44% of the voting interest. Despite Canso’s significant stake, the CRTC confirmed that no single shareholder will hold majority control, and effective control will remain with NewCo’s board of directors.