Alliance Atlantis and CanWest respond to comments by Movie Distribution Income Fund
05 April 2007 - 2:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
TORONTO, April 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In a media release
issued yesterday evening, Movie Distribution Income Fund (the
"Fund") stated that it intends to seek court intervention in
connection with the completion of the Arrangement pursuant to which
AA Acquisition Corp. (formerly 6681859 Canada Inc.) would acquire
all of the outstanding shares of Alliance Atlantis Communications
Inc. ("AACI") for $53.00 cash per share. The Fund, the indirect
owner of 49% of Motion Picture Distribution LP ("MPD"), stated in
its release that it believes, based on publicly available
information, the consent of the trustees of the Fund is required in
connection with the Arrangement. "We do not believe the Arrangement
itself requires the consent of the trustees of the Fund. As
previously disclosed in our Management Proxy Circular dated March
5, 2007, certain of the reorganizational steps contemplated by AA
Acquisition Corp. may require consents of third parties," said
David Lazzarato, Executive VP and Chief Financial Officer of AACI.
"The trustees of the Fund apparently believed they needed to take
legal steps to preserve the rights of the Fund in advance of the
special meeting of Alliance Atlantis shareholders to be held today.
Nevertheless, we understand that the trustees, together with AA
Acquisition Corp. and management of MPD, continue to engage in
discussions. The trustees and management of MPD also continue to
provide information required by AA Acquisition Corp. to fully
respond to the questions raised by the trustees. We expect that AA
Acquisition Corp. will be able to satisfactorily address any
concerns that the Fund's trustees may have regarding the
consequences to MPD from the Arrangement. As we currently expect
the Arrangement to be completed in July or early August, we believe
there is ample time for this process to run its course. We are
hopeful that the parties will reach a satisfactory understanding
but, of course, we cannot currently predict the outcome. In the
meantime we will take whatever legal steps we think are appropriate
to protect our rights and the interests of our shareholders. We
look forward to our special meeting of shareholders later this
morning." Commenting on behalf of CanWest Global Communications
Corp., Tom Strike, Executive Vice President, advised that AA
Acquisition Corp. intends to continue to pursue a satisfactory
resolution with the trustees of the Fund and would take whatever
legal action it deemed necessary to maximize the likelihood of a
timely completion of the Arrangement. About Alliance Atlantis
Communications Inc. Alliance Atlantis offers Canadians 13
well-branded specialty channels boasting targeted, high-quality
programming. Alliance Atlantis also co-produces and distributes the
hit CSI franchise and indirectly holds a 51% limited partnership
interest in Motion Picture Distribution LP, a leading distributor
of motion pictures in Canada, with motion picture distribution
operations in the United Kingdom and Spain. Alliance Atlantis'
shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange-trading symbols
AAC.A and AAC.B. Alliance Atlantis' website is
http://www.allianceatlantis.com/. About CanWest Global
Communications Corp. CanWest Global Communications Corp.
(http://www.canwestglobal.com/), (TSX: CGS and CGS.A, NYSE: CWG) an
international media company, is Canada's largest media company. In
addition to owning the Global Television Network, CanWest also
owns, operates and/or holds substantial interests in Canada's
largest publisher of daily newspapers, and conventional television,
out-of-home advertising, specialty cable channels, web sites and
radio stations and networks in Canada, New Zealand, Australia,
Turkey, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes
forward-looking statements which reflect Alliance Atlantis' current
expectations. Forward-looking statements are those which are not
historical fact and include in this news release statements
relating to the expected court proceedings, completion of the
Arrangement and the outcome of the discussions with the trustees of
the Fund. The reader should not place undue reliance on such
forward-looking statements. They involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause them to differ
materially from anticipated future results or expectations
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Other
risks and factors are described in materials filed by Alliance
Atlantis with the security regulatory authorities in Canada from
time to time are available at http://www.sedar.com/. Alliance
Atlantis undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of
new information, future events or otherwise. This news release
contains certain comments or forward-looking statements regarding
CanWest that are based largely upon current expectations and are
subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties. These factors
could cause actual future performance to vary materially from
current expectations. CanWest disclaims any intention or obligation
to update any forward-looking statement even if new information
becomes available as a result of future events or for any other
reason. DATASOURCE: Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. CONTACT:
Alliance Atlantis, Andrew Akman, tel. (416) 966-7701; CanWest
Global, Deb Hutton, tel. (416) 383-2442
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