On January 13, 2016, Corus and SCI entered into a share purchase agreement, pursuant to which Corus agreed to purchase all of the shares of Shaw Media Inc. for an aggregate purchase price of $2.65 billion, of which $1.85 billion will be paid in cash, and the balance will be satisfied through the issuance of Corus Class B non-voting shares.
Once completed, the transaction would draw upon the complementary strengths of Corus and Shaw Media and strengthen Corus’ position as a large integrated media and content company with enhanced competitive position and scale, overseen by Corus’ strong management team. The transaction will give Corus ownership of all of Shaw Media's leading brands, resulting in a combined portfolio with significant scale, including 45 specialty television channels, 39 radio stations, digital assets, the content studio, Nelvana, and 15 conventional television stations.
Corus has obtained committed financing for the acquisition as well as the refinancing of existing Corus debt, including $560 million of bridge financing. The bridge financing is expected to be replaced with a combination of new senior unsecured notes and a potential offering of subscription receipts for Corus Class B Shares.
Osler is acting for Corus with a team lead by Doug Bryce, and including James Brown and Amelia Miao (M&A), Desmond Lee and Rob Anton (Securities), Firoz Ahmed, David Davachi, Tim Hughes and Dov Begun (Tax).