*AAC refinances bank debt

A corporate financing team from Alliance Atlantis Communications has wrapped an 18-city road show aimed at selling a us$200 million public bond offering. The bonds, which mature in 2009, are also available in Canada to institutions and certain individuals.

Paul Laberge, aac vp corporate development, says the primary purpose for the sale is to reduce current bank debt with ‘a layer of longer-term debt-capital.’ The interest rate is part of the pricing procedure and hadn’t been set at Playback press time.

Road show leads included aac chairman and ceo Michael MacMillan, exec vp and cfo Judson Martin and Laberge.

Laberge says, ‘We had a very successful road show,’ and, assuming a full sell-off, aac’s outstanding bank debt will drop to about $70 million.

Underwriters are Goldman, Sachs & Company; Merrill Lynch; Pierce, Fenner & Smith; RBC Dominion Securities; TD Securities (usa); CIBC World Markets Corp.; Chase Securities and SG Cowen Securities Corp.

aac trades on Nasdaq under the aacb (class b, non-voting) symbol.

*Cancom takes $120M credit

Cancom has set the stage to increase its senior credit facilities to $80 million by arranging financing with a syndicate of chartered banks, starting with the Toronto Dominion Bank. A subordinate credit facility in the amount of $40 million was also arranged, for a total of $120 million.

Monies will be used to finance the growth of the direct-to-home satellite tv services of Star Choice Communications, which became a wholly owned subsidiary of Cancom as of Sept. 1.

*Behaviour sells game division

In a move to refocus Behaviour Communications in film production and international distribution, the Montreal-based company has sold its game division, Behaviour Interactive, for nearly $2.3 million.

More than $1.8 million has been paid in cash, a payment of $300,000 is due by Oct. 31, 2000 and a final $150,000 is payable at the latest on Oct. 31, 2001.

*Cogeco profits jump

Cogeco Inc. has reported-year end profits of $53.2 million, or $3.33 a share, a major increase over last year’s $20.2 million in profits. The Montreal-based bdu/broadcast company reported total revenues of $358.8 million for ’99, up from $316.1 million last year.

In ’98, the Cogeco Program Development Fund advanced $270,940 for the development of 22 Canadian tv drama projects. The fund also made grants to three special projects.

*Shaw’s year-end results and new cable prez

Shaw Communications reports a 13% increase in revenue for its fourth quarter ended Aug. 31 and a 12.2% increase in its year end results (also Aug. 31) as compared to the same periods in 1998.

Revenues for the year totaled $728 million, up from $646 million for 1998, with $190 million posted for the fourth quarter (up from $167 million for the same quarter in ’98).

Shaw’s net income reached almost $46 million, up from $13.5 million in 1998, with $18 million net income registered for the 1999 fourth quarter.

Earnings per share for the year increased to $0.23 per share, from -$0.01 per share in 1998. Fourth quarter eps rose to $0.13 from -$0.08 in fourth quarter 1998.

All figures reflect the financial picture before Shaw spun off Corus Entertainment as a separate, publicly traded company.

Shaw credits much of its success in this past fiscal to the issuance of four million class b shares in June, which resulted in net proceeds of approximately $250 million.

In other Shaw news, the company has named Peter Bissonnette president of Shaw Cablesystems. Bissonnette joined Shaw in 1989, coming aboard as vp of operations for b.c.’s Lower Mainland region.