Vancouver: The sale of Finale Post Production to video duplication company Telepost Communica- tions fell apart Dec. 15, four months after the deal was announced and two months after the deal was supposed to close.

In the original deal, Telepost was to buy 100% of Finale for $500,000 in cash and shares and the assumption of Finale’s debt.

The two Vancouver companies had heralded the merger as a move that would create a fourth full-service post house in Vancouver able to compete more effectively with Rainmaker Entertainment, Northwest Imaging & fx and Toybox West.

While both companies leave the door open for a future partnership, for now it is business as usual.

‘The deal really didn’t get off the ground,’ says Finale founder and president Don Thompson.

‘We agreed that the time had passed to do the deal,’ says Thompson. ‘We had to get back to operating the business and growing what we had. We were certainly interested in working with [local film veteran and Telepost principal] Crawford Hawkins and having access to public financings. But when it takes a long time [to finalize the deal], you begin to question the benefits.’

Eleven-year-old Finale – which is working on Omni Films’ Edgemont Road and did the effects on Forefront Entertainment’s critically acclaimed Magician’s House kids’ series – continues to look for other strategic partnerships, he says.

‘The deal isn’t 100% dead,’ insists Telepost ceo Steve McDonald. ‘We’re not going forward as contemplated, but we’re leaving the door open.’

He says 13-year-old Telepost will again meet with Finale this month to reassess the potential for a merger.

‘We saw Finale as a way to get into high-definition,’ says McDonald. ‘Our strategy to get into high definition has not changed, whether it is through Finale or not.’

McDonald says he has already met with other potential investors to facilitate the move to hd.

One of Telepost’s most current projects is editing the tape-based video game magazine show Electric Playground, which airs in syndication and on Space: The Imagination Station.