MONTRÉAL, Sept. 9, 2015 /CNW
Telbec/ - Quebecor Media and Caisse de dépôt et placement du
Québec (CDPQ) announced today that they have agreed on the partial
purchase of CDPQ's interest in Quebecor Media.
Quebecor Media has purchased for cancellation 7,268,324 common
shares of Quebecor Media held by Capital d'Amérique
Investissements, a wholly owned subsidiary of CDPQ, amounting to
approximately 28.6% of CDPQ's interest prior to closing, for a
purchase price of $500 million, to be paid in cash. Quebecor
Media intends to finance the transaction by accessing debt-capital
markets.
Following the transaction, CDPQ holds 18,170,810 common
shares of Quebecor Media, a 18.93% interest.
"This transaction continues the process announced in
October 2012, when we introduced a
plan to purchase the shares of Quebecor Media held by Caisse de
dépôt et placement du Québec," said Jean-François Pruneau, Chief
Financial Officer of Quebecor. "Ownership of all the shares of
Quebecor Media by Quebecor remains our long-term goal. This
transaction will be financed in accordance with our basic objective
of maintaining sound balance sheet management."
"We are continuing to rebalance our portfolio, a process we
started in 2012," explained Christian Dubé, Executive
Vice-President, Québec of CDPQ. "Following this transaction, we
retain a significant stake in Quebecor Media, a company that
continues to provide good prospects for value creation."
About Quebecor and Quebecor Media
Quebecor, a Canadian leader in telecommunications,
entertainment, news media and culture, is one of the
best-performing integrated communications companies in the
industry. Driven by their determination to deliver the best
possible customer experience, all of Quebecor's subsidiaries and
brands are differentiated by their high-quality, multiplatform,
convergent products and services.
Quebecor (TSX: QBR.A, QBR.B) is headquartered in Québec. It
holds, following the transaction hereinabove announced, a 81.07%
interest in Quebecor Media, which employs close to 12,000 people in
Canada.
A family business founded in 1950, Quebecor is strongly
committed to the community. Every year, it actively supports people
working with more than 400 organizations in the vital fields of
culture, health, education, the environment and
entrepreneurship.
Visit our website: www.quebecor.com
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/Quebecor
About Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is a long-term
institutional investor that manages funds primarily for public and
parapublic pension and insurance plans. As at June 30, 2015, it held $240.8 billion in net assets. As one of
Canada's leading institutional
fund managers, la Caisse, which marks its 50th anniversary this
year, invests globally in major financial markets, private equity,
infrastructure and real estate. For more information about la
Caisse: www.CDPQ.com.
SOURCE Quebecor