MONTREAL – Quebec film and television production company Remstar Corporation has won the bidding war for the financially troubled TQS television network.
TQS’s Board of Directors and the networks’ shareholders announced Monday their approval of Remstar’s offer, shortly after it was accepted by Quebec Superior Court Judge Pierre Journet.
The terms and the amount of the offer were not revealed, but Remstar’s co-president and CEO Maxime Rémillard said in a statement that “our business plan will take TQS beyond traditional television broadcasting. That’s how we believe we can best respond to the challenges facing the Quebec television industry.”
“We’re very happy,” said TQS President and CEO René Guimond. “Our concern has always been to find a long-term solution for TQS as quickly as possible, and we’re delighted this crucial step has been completed.”
Guimond said TQS has attracted a “serious buyer who believes in the role TQS can play. I’m enthusiastic at the idea that a company as dynamic as Remstar is buying TQS with the intention of giving it a new launch.”
The arrangement must still be approved by creditors in a vote to be held no later than April 28. The CRTC must also approve the transfer of licence.
TQS, 60% owned by Cogeco and 40% by CTVglobemedia, has been struggling under a $66 million debt and has been under court protection from creditors since December. A search for potential buyers has been under way ever since, and late last month, TQS said it had received four serious bids.
Remstar was founded by Maxime and his brother Julien in 1997, and since then has rapidly grown into a major film and television program developer, and production, financing and distribution company.
Among its film credits are Head in the Clouds, the 2004 romantic drama with Charlize Theron and Penelope Cruz, No Good Deed, The Triplets of Belleville, Ma Fille, Mon Ange, An American Haunting, and Battle in Seattle.
It’s currently involved in the filming of a drama on the École Polytechnique massacre in Montreal, starring Roy Dupuis.
Rémillard said that over the next few weeks, the company will meet with all those involved in TQS, including employees, producers, and advertisers, to discuss their expectations and the company’s plans.
“The next few weeks will be intense as we have to rapidly prepare our request for approval from the CRTC, present the details of our proposals to creditors, and finalize the details of the purchase,” he said.
Once that is done, he said, the company would discuss publicly its hopes to lift TQS out of the financial and ratings doldrums.
TQS, which employs about 600 people, has about 12-15% of the Quebec TV audience behind TVA and Radio-Canada. It has been squeezed by the rise of speciality channels and a splintering of available advertising dollars.
But it was also bitterly disappointed with the CRTC, which last May rejected the idea of carriage fees to help traditional broadcasters compete with fee-supported speciality channels. The CRTC now plans to take a second look at the idea.
Remstar has other interests as well, including music, video, and concert production and management through Remstar Interaction.
The Quebec government’s pension fund manager, la Caisse de depot et placement, and the Quebec labour investment fund, le Fonds de Solidarité, announced an investment agreement in November with the company’s film distribution arm, Remstar Media Partners.
Under the agreement, Remstar would invest in the financing and distribution of about 25 films, mostly Canadian, over five years.
At the time, Rémillard talked about “tremendous growth opportunities in the Quebec and Canadian film industry,” saying “we plan to significantly increase our Canadian and international presence by assisting producers in financing, distributing and promoting their movies.”
Gaétan Morin, Executive Vice-President, Investments for the Solidarity Fund, called it “good news for the Québec movie industry and particularly for producers, actors and film makers.”
Glenn Wanamaker is Cartt.ca’s Quebec Editor
