On Friday, Montreal-based Astral Media revealed its plans to buy Standard Radio — putting up a reported $1.3 billion for a deal that would create Canada’s largest radio broadcaster, with 81 stations across the country.

But there’s no word yet on what Internet properties might be part of the deal as Standard’s Internet arm, Iceberg Radio, is part of the ongoing discussions.

‘The deal has not been finalized,’ says Alain Bergeron, Astral’s VP of brand management and corporate communications. ‘There are a lot of things that are still under discussion, and the Internet portion of it has not been finalized yet, and there’s nothing to say about that.’

Astral currently owns 29 radio stations in Quebec and the Atlantic provinces, plus pay-TV assets including The Movie Network and a specialty TV lineup that includes Teletoon and Canal Vie.

Toronto-based Standard Radio, a private company, is currently Canada’s largest private broadcaster, with 52 radio stations. Its other holdings include ad sales firm IMS, radio content provider Sound Source Networks, two BC TV stations and a 40% share of Sirius Canada satellite radio. Some media have reported Astral’s deal would not include Standard’s stake in Sirius, and online music store Puretracks may be left out of the buy.

Sunni Boot, president and CEO of Toronto media buying firm ZenithOptimedia, says the buyout comes as no surprise after last year, which saw CTV Globemedia eat up CHUM and CanWest buy Alliance Atlantis – both moves still to be approved by the regulator. ‘I knew as soon as the [CTV] Globemedia thing happened that that was just the start of choosing the dance partners,’ says Boot. ‘Nobody wants to be left on the dance floor, do they?’

The news is welcome, says Boot.

‘It’s a good move for them, in the sense that they lack English properties, and this will round out their portfolio,’ says Boot. ‘It makes sense for them to buy rather than be purchased because there’s more growth opportunity for them to purchase into the rest of Canada versus staying with their Quebec stronghold.’

‘Both Standard and Astral are very, very good media owners. They have excellent properties, and they market their properties well, and they enjoy a solid reputation of integrity in our industry. In a lot of ways, it’s a bit of a meeting of the minds,’ Boot adds.

From Media in Canada