Remstar Media Group is a privately held Canadian

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...

firm, owned by the film production and distribution company

Remcorp Remcorp is a Canadian private investment firm founded by businessman Maxime Rémillard. Its head offices are located in Montreal, Quebec. History The company was founded in 1997. At first involved in the entertainment industry, Remcorp now ma ...

. It owns the French-language specialty channels

Elle Fictions Elle Fictions (stylized ELLE Fictions) is a Canadian French language specialty channel owned by Remstar Media Group. The channel broadcasts general entertainment programming targeting young adult women. It was first established in 1986 as the mus ...

and Max.

History

In June 2008, Remstar acquired the French-language network TQS, which had been owned by

Cogeco Cogeco Inc. is a Canadian telecommunications and media company. Its corporate offices are located at 1 Place Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec. The company is structured into three strategic business units (SBU); Cogeco Connexion, Breezeline ( ...

and CTVglobemedia but entered

bankruptcy protection Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

in late 2007. The network was renamed V the following year. It was later reorganized into a separate entity named V Media Group, which was still majority-owned by Remstar, with a minority share held by a trust controlled by Remstar's owner, Maxime Rémillard. In December 2013, V Media Group announced plans to purchase MusiquePlus and MusiMax from CTVglobemedia's successor

Bell Media Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...

, which had earlier in the year received approval to purchase

Astral Media Astral Media Inc. was a Canadian media conglomerate. It was Canada's largest radio broadcaster, with 84 radio stations in eight provinces. Astral was also a major player in premium and specialty television in Canada, with 23 specialty channels ...

, but divested several networks in order to reduce its total market share following the purchase. The acquisition was approved by the CRTC on September 11, 2014. To fund the purchase, 15% stakes in V Media Group were purchased by each of the Caisse,

Fonds de solidarité FTQ The largest development capital network in the province, the Fonds de solidarité FTQ was created on the initiative of the FTQ, Québec's largest central labour body. As of Novembre 30, 2022, the Fonds held $17.8 billion in net assets and ha ...

, and

Investissement Québec Investissement Québec is a company established in 1998 under an act passed by the National Assembly of Quebec to favour investment in Quebec by Quebec-based and international companies. Its registered office is located in Quebec City. In December 2 ...

, while Rémillard's trust also increased its stake. As a result, Remstar remains the largest single shareholder but no longer holds a majority interest in V Media; however Remstar's owner (Rémillard) still has majority control. The sale closed on September 16, 2014. In June 2016, V Media Group announced a partnership with

Vice Media Vice Media Group LLC is an American-Canadian digital media and broadcasting company. , the Vice Media Group included five main business areas: VICE.com (digital content); VICE STUDIOS (film and TV production) VICE TV (also known as VICELAND); V ...

; the companies will establish a studio to co-develop French-language content, and launch a French-language version of its

Viceland Viceland (stylized in all caps), and Vice TV in the United States, are brands used for television channels owned and programmed by Vice Media. Viceland launched on February 29, 2016, with two branded cable channels; the American version (rebra ...

specialty channel in 2017. However, plans for a French-language channel were dropped; instead V Media Group stated that they will feature Vice content in French on its channels. In July 2019, V Media Group announced that it would sell its namesake television network, and its web platforms such as its streaming service noovo.ca, to Bell Media, pending CRTC approval. The company will retain its specialty channels. On April 3, 2020, the sale was approved by the CRTC. The sale was later closed on May 15, 2020. On May 20, 2020, V Media Group was renamed as Remstar Media Group.

Current ownership structure

Following the purchase of MusiquePlus and MusiMax, the shareholders and voting interests of Remstar Media Group are now as follows: * Remstar Broadcasting (wholly owned by Maxime Rémillard): 45.14% (combination of common and preferred shares) * Fiducie Seismikmax (trust controlled by Maxime Rémillard): 9.86% (common shares) *

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ; ) is an institutional investor that manages several public and parapublic pension plans and insurance programs in Quebec. CDPQ was founded in 1965 by an act of the National Assembly, under the go ...

: 15% (preferred shares) *

: 15% (preferred shares)

References

External links

V Media Group corporate site
Companies based in Montreal Mass media companies established in 2008 Television broadcasting companies of Canada 2008 establishments in Quebec French-language television programming in Canada {{Canada-media-company-stub