Debt-ridden Canwest Global Communications Corp. is set for a clean slate after Shaw Communications stepped up Friday.
Shaw says it would own a controlling stake in the company — 20% of Canwest’s equity and 80% of its voting stock when all the papers are signed. The Calgary-based cable giant is willing to spend $65-million on the deal.
Winnipeg-based Canwest owes billions to creditors and says the deal with Shaw would help with that. In October 2009, Canwest filed for bankruptcy protection.
Earlier this week, Canwest said Gail and David Asper would resign from the company’s board of directors. Leonard Asper stills heads up the company, which owns Global TV, a number of specialty channels and several newspapers. The proposed deal with Shaw would only see the television division be taken over.
