Court approves sale of Canwest TV assets

TORONTO -- The $2 billion sale of Canwest Global Communication's TV assets to cable giant Shaw Communications has been approved by an Ontario court.

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Justice Sarah Pepall of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice OK'd the sale after lawyers for Canwest Global, Shaw and unsecured creditors resolved an eleventh-hour shareholders dispute that held up court approval.

Canwest Global creditors will vote on the Shaw takeover on July 19.

Following late Tuesday night negotiations that ended with a deal Wednesday morning, Shaw has agreed to pay around $440 million to Canwest Global's primary creditors, another $38 million to unsecured creditors, and $11 million more to a shareholders group led by former Canwest Global CEO Leonard Asper.

Asper failed to convince the Ontario court to order a new 30-day auction of Canwest Global's TV assets to secure a higher valuation than the $2 billion bid placed on the table in May by Calgary-based Shaw.

Justice Pepall's approval of the broadcast sale removes a major barrier to Canwest Global eventually emerging from creditor protection.

Canwest Global last week secured court approval for a separate sale of its newspaper division to a consortium of U.S. bondholders.