Vancouver: Telepost Communications is hoping it’s second-time-lucky in its bid to expand by acquisition.

On June 19, the Vancouver-based video duplication and offline editing company announced a 120-day due diligence period prior to its purchase of Studio Post & Imaging of Vancouver and Metropolitan Entertainment of Hollywood.

Back in December, Telepost’s negotiations to acquire Vancouver’s Finale Editworks fell apart. The deal was supposed to make Telepost the fourth largest full-service post house in Vancouver able to compete more effectively with Rainmaker Entertainment, Northwest Imaging & fx and TOYBOX West.

‘There is no debt for these companies,’ says Telepost chair Steve McDonald, describing Studio Post and Metropolitan as small but fast-growing suppliers to their markets. ‘Debt was the big stumbling block with Finale. These are different people and a different mindset.’

McDonald expects the sticker price to exceed the $500,000 in cash and shares offered to Finale, primarily because of the new acquisition targets’ profit positions.

He adds that they fit Telepost’s strategy to grow its post services and expand into high-definition. Studio Post and Metropolitan will likely be merged into a single division of Telepost.

When it comes to Metropolitan, McDonald isn’t deterred by problems faced by Rainmaker in managing its Los Angeles effects division and says his new California subsidiary has an existing client base, is profitable and serves a different market.

Telepost, which trades on the Canadian Venture Exchange, is about to raise $5 million to $10 million through a private placement, says McDonald. Shares traded near their 52-week high of $0.35 during negotiations with Finale, but have since dropped to a new year low of $0.11. On June 19, shares traded at $0.18.