CanWest Global Communications and Goldman Sachs on Wednesday successfully completed the $2.3-billion takeover of Alliance Atlantis Communications.

Pending CRTC approval, CanWest Global will now merge its Global Television network with AAC’s 13 specialty channels, as Goldman Sachs scoops a 50% stake in the CSI TV crime series franchise and domestic movie distributor Motion Picture Distribution LLP.

With shares in AAC still trading Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange, winding up the Canadian broadcaster took most of the day to complete.

There was no formal handover of keys at the front door on Bloor Street, only a stream of AAC administrative staff leaving the building with pink slips and severance packages in hand, and company shareholders served notice they will receive $53 in cash for each share in AAC before the broadcaster is delisted from the TSX. An exact tally of the job losses was not available by press time.

‘This is an historic milestone in the incredible journey that our company has experienced over the past three decades,’ Michael MacMillan, departing AAC executive chairman, said in a statement.

Goldman Sachs also on Wednesday completed a separate deal with Movie Distribution Income Fund to buy its 49% stake in Motion Picture Distribution LLP for $193 million.

The reconfigured distributor, with its library of Canadian film and TV product, will be controlled by Goldman Sachs’ Canadian partner, EdgeStone Capital Partners, to appease Canadian Heritage.

The CRTC will weigh the AAC takeover deal with public hearings starting Sept. 5.