Tech & Biz

Canwest Global Files for Creditor Protection: Leonard Asper Memo

by Mary Richard | October 6, 2009 at 05:58 am

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Canada's media giant Canwest Global Communications Corp. is filing for creditor protection today as it restructures its huge debtload.

Based in Winnipeg, Canwest owns Global Television and National Post, as well as several specialty channels and 12 daily newspapers throughout Canada.

They have been struggling for months and recently sold off the American political magazine The New Republic and its majority stake in Australian broadcaster Ten Network Holdings, as well as its E! branded TV stations.

Canwest hopes this will give them time to recapitalize and emerge a stronger entity within 4-6 months.

"We did this in order to implement a controlled, orderly and consensual financial restructuring plan that will provide a renewed financial outlook for these business units and put them on a stronger footing for the future," Canwest CEO Leonard Asper said in a note to staff this morning."This is called a strategic filing because it has the support of our major debt holders and it means that we can quickly implement our restructuring plan with the goal of completing this work in four to six months," he said.

Leonard Asper and other members of Canwest's founding family have agreed to invest up to $15 million in the restructured company.Canwest didn't say how much voting control or operational involvement the Aspers would have after the restructuring.

Read Asper's Memo to staff.

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Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 07:06 on October 6th, 2009

Good luck to them. I hope they are successful

Sudha Krishna

at 11:20 on October 6th, 2009

Curious to know what the fate of The New Republic is, doesn't CanWest own it too?

Mary Richard

at 13:42 on October 6th, 2009

Hi sudhak, I included the Wiki link to the New Republic. They sold it back to Peretz, the editor-in-chief, back in March of this year, when they first started cleaning house.