Ending a ‘lengthy and highly contested’ bidding process, CanWest Global has found a buyer for its radio and TV holdings in New Zealand, striking a $314-million deal with Ironbridge Capital of Australia.

The deal passes control of CanWest MediaWorks New Zealand — which controls the free-to-air channels TV3 and C4 and a number of radio stations — from the Winnipeg media giant to HT Media, a newly formed spin-off of Ironbridge, a private equity firm.

‘For CanWest, this transaction allows us to further our objective of reducing debt and redeploying capital consistent with our corporate strategy,’ said CanWest Global president and CEO Leonard Asper in a release on Monday.

Late last year, CanWest Global indicated it was looking to sell off its Kiwi holdings. The company, together with U.S. investor Goldman Sachs, is partway through a $2.3-billion deal to buy Alliance Atlantis.

Its deal with Ironbridge is currently in lockup, and is subject to approval by regulators in New Zealand. Prior to the deal, CanWest Global owned 158.6 million ordinary shares, or roughly 70%, of its New Zealand subsidiary though CanWest MediaWorks Ireland Holdings. The company entered New Zealand, which has no laws against foreign ownership of media, in 1992 with the purchase of then-struggling TV3.

‘We are delighted to have secured CanWest’s stake in MediaWorks,’ said Ironbridge exec Kerry McIntosh. Other recent Ironbridge deals have seen the Sydney-based firm and its partners buy into a pharmaceutical company, a chain of backpacking hostels and an Aussie furniture retailer.