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TORONTO – Canadian kids content firm DHX Media, the owner of the Teletubbies franchise, has acquired four Canadian family TV channels from Bell Media for $160 million (CAN$170 million).
The all-cash deal includes Family Channel, Disney XD and separate English- and French-language versions of Disney Junior.
The purchase, which requires regulatory approval, will be paid for with an expanded credit facility and cash.
“The acquisition of these high-quality Canadian channels represents an exciting new addition to DHX, one that complements and enhances all areas of our business and positions us for our next stage of growth,” said CEO Michael Donovan.
Family, which has around 5.7 million Canadian subscribers, and the Disney-branded Canadian cable channels were acquired earlier this year by Bell Media as part of a CAN$3 billion (US$2.84 billion) deal with Astral Media.
The network had been slated for sale by Bell Media as it looked to divest some of the assets to satisfy regulatory demands.
Halifax-based DHX has been in acquisition mode, having earlier this year acquired Teletubbies owner Ragdoll Worldwide from BBC Worldwide and an investor group, including founder Anne Wood, for $27.7 million in cash.
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