MONTREAL – Jules Grenier, Cogeco Cable’s Quebec region vice-president, has been selected to lead its new Portuguese operation, Cabovisao, once the transaction is complete, expected within the next month.
"He is preparing to move as soon as the closing occurs," Cogeco Inc. president and CEO Louis Audet told financial analysts during a conference call today releasing the company’s third quarter results.
Last Tuesday, Quebec Superior Court approved Cogeco’s plan to purchase Cable Satisfaction International Inc. and its main asset, Portuguese cable company Cabovisao. CSII, founded by former Videotron executive Guy Laflamme, has been under bankruptcy protection since 2003. It’s "now a matter for the leading debtors of the company to proceed with the plan and implement it," said Audet. "We expect the closing to happen pretty soon."
He said that the $658 million deal should be final in the next four to five weeks.
Since joining Cogeco from retailer Provigo in the summer of 2001, Grenier has led Cogeco’s Quebec division through a period of strong growth in digital and high speed Internet subscribers. As of May 31, the Quebec division now has almost 107,000 digital cable customers (up 22% since the start of fiscal 2006, September 1st, 2005) and 67,500 high speed Internet customers (up 31%). It also has over 11,000 voice customers, up from near zero last year.
– Greg O’Brien
