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Torstar acquires 25 per cent stake in Blue Ant Media

TORONTO – Torstar Corp. said Wednesday it has acquired a 25 per cent stake in Blue Ant Media Inc., a privately held television broadcaster led by TV industry veteran Michael MacMillan.

The publisher of the Toronto Star and owner of other media and websites said late Wednesday its investment in Blue Ant will be about $22.7 million and also reflects Blue Ant’s acquisition of High Fidelity HDTV.

“We view the investment in Blue Ant Media as strategic, providing Torstar with the opportunity to further diversify our Canadian media asset base” Torstar chief executive David Holland said in a statement after markets closed Wednesday.

“We see the potential in Michael’s vision for a new kind of media company in Canada and we are very pleased to be involved.”

MacMillan has been well known for years in the television industry as the former CEO of Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc., a film and TV company acquired by CanWest Global in 2007.

Blue Ant has a controlling interest in GlassBox Television, which operates specialty television channels like Travel+Escape, Bite TV and AUX TV.

It also has a minority interest in Quarto Communications, publisher of Cottage Life, Outdoor Canada, Explore and Canadian Home Workshop magazines,

“We are very happy to have Torstar as a partner as we establish and grow a new kind of media company in Canada,” said MacMillan. “In addition to their equity support, we look forward to working with Torstar’s Canadian media operation as the media landscape continues to evolve.”

In a separate release, merchant bank C.A. Bancorp Inc. said it and other shareholders in High Fidelity HDTV had agreed to sell a big minority stake in the company to Blue Ant.

Blue Ant has already bought 29.9 per cent of High Fidelity, and expects to acquire the rest in the 2012 second quarter, pending regulatory approval.

C.A. Bancorp expects to receive a total of $16.2 million in cash and Blue Ant shares through the deal.

High Fidelity provides four premium high-definition channels: Oasis HD, HIFI HD, eqhd, and radX.

Torstar is one of Canada’s largest media companies, led by the Star, Canada’s largest daily newspaper, and digital properties including Thestar.com, Toronto.com, Travelalerts.ca, daily deal website WagJag.com, Workopolis, Olive Media, and EyeReturn Marketing.

The company also owns the Metro free daily newspaper chain, Metroland Media Group, publishers of community and daily newspapers in Ontario, as well as Harlequin Books – the world’s biggest publisher of romance fiction.

In earlier trading Wednesday, Torstar B shares fell four cents to close at $8.20.

Source: Toronto Star