ROW Entertainment Acquires Video One Canada

On July 30, 2004, ROW Entertainment Income Fund completed its acquisition of all of the operations of Video One Canada Ltd., a subsidiary of Standard Broadcasting Corporation Ltd. The purchase price of approximately $74 million was paid 50 per cent in cash and with the issuance of 3.7 million units of ROW. The cash portion of the purchase price was financed with new term credit facilities that, in addition to a new working capital facility, are provided to ROW by the Bank of Nova Scotia.

The business of the Fund includes the wholesale/fulfilment of CDs and DVDs as well as the operation of a retail chain selling pre-recorded music and movies in secondary markets in Canada. Video One is a home movie distributor to independent retailers, small and large chains across Canada, as well as a number of national retailers.

The Fund was represented by Aird & Berlis, with a team that included Martin Kovnats, Allan Bronstein, Andrew Wilder and Kyler Wells (corporate and securities), Barb Worndl (tax) and Andy Ayotte, Jill Fraser and Boris Muchalov (banking).

Video One and Standard Broadcasting were represented by Goodmans, with a team that included Dale Lastman, Neil Sheehy, Cristina Alaimo and Jennifer Sernaker (corporate/securities), and Cyndee Todgham-Cherniak and Yi-Wen Hsu (tax).

The Bank of Nova Scotia was represented by McMillan Binch, with a team that included Tim Baron, Andy Kent, Kathy Martin and Lisa Mantello (banking) and James Weber (real estate). George Addy and Charles Tingley (competition) of Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg advised both ROW and Standard Broadcasting in respect of certain competition law matters.