Mar 28, 2024
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Alliance no longer selling MPD

TORONTO (CP) _ Movie Distribution Income Fund said late Wednesday that Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. is "no longer interested" in trying to sell Motion Picture Distribution LP outright.

Alliance holds an indirect 51 per cent stake in the Canadian film distribution company, while the fund has a 49 per cent stake.

However, CanWest Global Communications Corp. (TSX:CGS) announced late Wednesday that it had paired up with Wall Street bank Goldman, Sachs & Co. to acquire Alliance Atlantis in a $2.3 billion deal.

Under the proposed deal, a Canadian partner of GS Capital Partners, a private equity affiliate of the New York-based bank involved in the acquisition, would take control of Alliance’s interest in Motion Picture Distribution.

"The special committee of the fund continues to monitor circumstances, including those related to the proposed AACI sale transaction announced today, and their implications on the process to explore ownership alternatives in relation to MPD previously announced by the fund, including its effect on the nature of the transactions that may be available to unitholders of the fund (if any)," Movie Distribution said in a release.

Alliance Atlantis, a specialty broadcaster whose marquee property is the "CSI" TV-series franchise, said last October it wanted to sell its stake in Motion Picture Distribution, a leading movie distributor in Canada with other operations in Britain and Spain.

A few weeks later, Movie Distribution Income Fund said that it would join Alliance Atlantis in putting the distribution business up for sale. Each side needed the approval of the other to sell its interest in the partnership.

Potential buyers have been eyeing the fund since earlier in 2006, with the most talked-about candidate being London-based Marwyn Investment Management LLP, which had said it was prepared to pay about $400 million for the company. A formal offer was never put on the table. Goldman Sachs was another possible suitor.

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Headline, Industry News

Alliance no longer selling MPD

TORONTO (CP) _ Movie Distribution Income Fund said late Wednesday that Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. is "no longer interested" in trying to sell Motion Picture Distribution LP outright.

Alliance holds an indirect 51 per cent stake in the Canadian film distribution company, while the fund has a 49 per cent stake.

However, CanWest Global Communications Corp. (TSX:CGS) announced late Wednesday that it had paired up with Wall Street bank Goldman, Sachs & Co. to acquire Alliance Atlantis in a $2.3 billion deal.

Under the proposed deal, a Canadian partner of GS Capital Partners, a private equity affiliate of the New York-based bank involved in the acquisition, would take control of Alliance’s interest in Motion Picture Distribution.

"The special committee of the fund continues to monitor circumstances, including those related to the proposed AACI sale transaction announced today, and their implications on the process to explore ownership alternatives in relation to MPD previously announced by the fund, including its effect on the nature of the transactions that may be available to unitholders of the fund (if any)," Movie Distribution said in a release.

Alliance Atlantis, a specialty broadcaster whose marquee property is the "CSI" TV-series franchise, said last October it wanted to sell its stake in Motion Picture Distribution, a leading movie distributor in Canada with other operations in Britain and Spain.

A few weeks later, Movie Distribution Income Fund said that it would join Alliance Atlantis in putting the distribution business up for sale. Each side needed the approval of the other to sell its interest in the partnership.

Potential buyers have been eyeing the fund since earlier in 2006, with the most talked-about candidate being London-based Marwyn Investment Management LLP, which had said it was prepared to pay about $400 million for the company. A formal offer was never put on the table. Goldman Sachs was another possible suitor.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Headline, Industry News

Alliance no longer selling MPD

TORONTO (CP) _ Movie Distribution Income Fund said late Wednesday that Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. is "no longer interested" in trying to sell Motion Picture Distribution LP outright.

Alliance holds an indirect 51 per cent stake in the Canadian film distribution company, while the fund has a 49 per cent stake.

However, CanWest Global Communications Corp. (TSX:CGS) announced late Wednesday that it had paired up with Wall Street bank Goldman, Sachs & Co. to acquire Alliance Atlantis in a $2.3 billion deal.

Under the proposed deal, a Canadian partner of GS Capital Partners, a private equity affiliate of the New York-based bank involved in the acquisition, would take control of Alliance’s interest in Motion Picture Distribution.

"The special committee of the fund continues to monitor circumstances, including those related to the proposed AACI sale transaction announced today, and their implications on the process to explore ownership alternatives in relation to MPD previously announced by the fund, including its effect on the nature of the transactions that may be available to unitholders of the fund (if any)," Movie Distribution said in a release.

Alliance Atlantis, a specialty broadcaster whose marquee property is the "CSI" TV-series franchise, said last October it wanted to sell its stake in Motion Picture Distribution, a leading movie distributor in Canada with other operations in Britain and Spain.

A few weeks later, Movie Distribution Income Fund said that it would join Alliance Atlantis in putting the distribution business up for sale. Each side needed the approval of the other to sell its interest in the partnership.

Potential buyers have been eyeing the fund since earlier in 2006, with the most talked-about candidate being London-based Marwyn Investment Management LLP, which had said it was prepared to pay about $400 million for the company. A formal offer was never put on the table. Goldman Sachs was another possible suitor.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

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