Astral shareholders approve BCE bid

Astral Media Inc.’s shareholders voted to approve BCE Inc.’s $3.38-billion bid to purchase the company on Thursday but cancelled a subsequent vote on whether to include a $25 million bonus for the company’s president and CEO, Astral said in a release. Astral said Bell’s agreement to purchase the company received strong support from all four of the company’s share classes, with no more than 1.2 per cent of shareholders voting against the deal in any single class. “I am very pleased by the overwhelming support of Astral’s shareholders in favor of the arrangement,” Ian Greenberg, one of Astral’s co-founders and its current president and CEO, said in a statement. “This enthusiastic support aptly reflects the value that the negotiated agreement represents for all Astral shareholders.” Prior to the meeting, the company cancelled a separate vote to award Greenberg a $25 million bonus and retention plan after determining that the vote would fail. The bonus plan, which sought to reward Greenberg for helping to build the company into a multi-billion dollar enterprise and to compensate him for future lost revenues, was questioned publicly by Astral investors. On Friday, Astral announced that the Quebec Superior Court had approved the deal after ruling that it is fair to the company's shareholders. The deal must still be approved by the CRTC, the Competition Bureau and the Toronto Stock Exchange before it can be completed, Astral said. “It is anticipated that the Arrangement will be completed in the second half of 2012,” the company said. In a separate release, Bell said it welcomed the shareholders’ approval of the acquisition.

Astral shareholders approve BCE bid

Briefs | 05/25/2012 2:15 pm EDT

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