Montreal: Astral Media has sold its AstralTech video duplication and distribution unit to visual packaged media company Technicolor for $26.5 million. The sale does not include the Astral Home Entertainment video wholesaling and marketing operation.

President and ceo Ian Greenberg says the sale is in line with Astral’s business strategy of building core media assets.

Technicolor acquires the 437,500-square-foot Montreal duplication facility, which employs 360 and is the supplier of Disney videos to the Canadian market, and the related satellite distribution facilities in Toronto and Calgary. Technicolor’s Toronto operations will be transferred to the Montreal plant.

Based in Camarillo, Calif., Technicolor is a wholly owned subsidiary of Carleton Communications plc and is the world’s leading film print, videocassette, cd and dvd production and distribution company. It says the Astral plant in Montreal can be retooled for dvd production.

Astral has interests in specialty and pay-tv, ppv, radio, outdoor advertising and new media as well as in production and post-production service company Covitec Group. Leo Rice-Barker