TORONTO March 9 -- Cable television mogul Ted Rogers' acquisition of publishing giant Maclean Hunter Ltd. -- creating Canada's largest media company -- rests in the hands of Maclean Hunter's shareholders and federal regulators.
Rogers told shareholders at Rogers Communications Inc.'s annual meeting late Monday that Maclean Hunter's board of directors had approved his $2.28 billion takeover bid.
Rogers will pay $12.53 for each Maclean Hunter share while the publishing firm will pay a special dividend of 36 cents a share if the transaction proceeds.
The extra share payment increases the overall value of the acquisition by more than $66 million.
Maclean Hunter is a majority shareholder in the Toronto Sun Publishing Co. which also publishes the Financial Post, and daily newspapers in Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta and in the federal capital in Ottawa.
Other Maclean Hunter properties include cable systems in Ontario, New Jersey, Michigan, Florida and Britain and radio stations in the Atlantic provinces, Ontario and the west.
It publishes Maclean's Chatelaine and other magazines, has holdings in North America and Europe and operates commercial printing firms and various communications services.
Maclean Hunter revenues in 1993 were $1.28 billion with a profit of $142.8 million. Rogers' revenues for that year were $98 billion with a loss of $216.4 million.
Rogers operates the largest cable service in Canada, mainly in British Columbia and Ontario. It has radio stations across Canada and its Cantel cellular telephone network serves about half a million customers.
Other holdings include Unitel Communications, a competitor in the long-distance telephone market, two cable channels, Movie Network and First Choice, and a chain of video rental stores across Canada.
Maclean Hunter shareholders have until March 31 to accept or decline the offer as approved by its board of directors. The acquisition is subject to approval by federal regulators.
