The value of a share in Canada: Demand a Federal Securities Commission to protect sharholder rights
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"UPDATE 1-Canwest, shareholders fail to reach agreement
5:28PM ET on Tuesday Jun 22, 2010 via Thomson Reuters
"Earlier on Tuesday, Ontario Superior Court Judge Sarah Peppal told lawyers for the parties she was surprised they weren't able to resolve their differences over the C$2 billion ($1.96 billion) sale of Canwest's television arm.
"There is lots of legal talent in this room ... Go back and you should be able find some middle ground," Peppal said.
The lawyers adjourned to a nearby boardroom where they were locked in talks for most of the day.
The original deal, approved by Peppal on Feb. 19, involved Shaw buying a 20 percent equity interest in Canwest. Common shareholders were due to receive 2.3 percent of the stock, worth about C$10 million, according to the Financial Post newspaper.[Error, not stock, cash payout.]
On May 3, Shaw, a Calgary-based cable and telecoms company, said it had reached agreement to buy 100 percent of Canwest's TV assets. The deal includes the C$700 million purchase of Goldman Sachs' stake in some of the channels, including National Geographic Channel and Food Network Canada.
The shareholders own 49 percent of the equity and 88 percent of the voting rights of Canwest, which collapsed under a C$4 billion mountain of debt last year."
