JOHN WOODS
CanWest Global Communications Corp. says the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has extended the company's protection from creditors until Nov. 5.
The media company announced the latest extension on Wednesday, a few hours before the previous deadline.
CanWest filed for protection from bankruptcy on Oct. 6, 2009, under the federal Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act after amassing $4-billion in debts and getting squeezed by the recession-induced slump in advertising revenues.
Since then, the company has sold off its publishing division for $1.1-billion to a group led by Paul Godfrey, who has had a varied career as a municipal politician, newspaper executive and president of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Godfrey, who had been president and CEO of CanWest's flagship National Post newspaper since early 2009 after his eight-year stint with the Jays, now heads Postmedia Network that was formed from the CanWest newspaper division..
CanWest has also agreed to sell its broadcast assets to Calgary-based Shaw Communications for about $2-billion, a transaction that still requires approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
The regulator will begin public hearings on the sale on Sept. 20, and if the transaction is approved, CanWest's shares will be delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange.