By rdnewsNOW staff

Jim Pattison Broadcast Group buys Fabmar, will expand in BC, AB and SK

Aug 14, 2018 | 12:33 PM

KAMLOOPS, B.C. – The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group Limited Partnership (Pattison) and Fabmar Investments Ltd. (Fabmar) announced Tuesday that Pattison has acquired Fabmar Communications Ltd. and its four radio station licences (and related assets) located in BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan subject to CRTC approval. 
 
Radio stations involved in the transaction include: 
 
Chilliwack, British Columbia • 89.5 The Drive (CHWK-FM) 
 
Whitecourt, Alberta • XM 105 FM (CIXM-FM) 
 
Melfort, Saskatchewan • 105 CJVR (CJVR-FM) • CK750 (CKJH-AM) 
 
Current local management teams will continue to lead the Chilliwack, Whitecourt and Melfort stations. As well, all existing team members at the current Fabmar stations will be offered positions and the opportunity to grow with the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.  
 
“Our family has enjoyed our time as committed members of the Canadian Broadcast industry. Many friends have been made along the way and we take pride in the accomplishments and the excellent job done by the dedicated Fabmar team of professional broadcasters,”said Adrian Fabro, Secretary Treasurer of Fabmar.
 
“It has been our pleasure to serve our listeners and clients over the past five decades. We are confident that the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group is the best choice to provide future opportunities for growth and success, not only for our radio stations and team members that operate them, but also for the communities they serve.”
  
Rod Schween, Jim Pattison Broadcast Group’s President commented, “We’re very excited to have this opportunity to grow in markets that complement our other Western Canadian radio and television stations. This is an extremely important acquisition between our two broadcasting companies, offering us the opportunity to add operations that operate under similar values, vision and culture to our own. We are very enthusiastic to work with, and learn from, our new valued team members and local management.”   

Schween went on to say, “We are confident that it will benefit the Canadian radio industry as a whole and will allow Pattison to continue competing against some of Canada’s largest national players who are well-established in the West.”

Schween said it will be the broadcast division’s focus to continue to super-serve the communities and listeners in Chilliwack, Whitecourt, and Melfort with the same commitment to community and locally-focused programming. 

This sale follows the successful recent Pattison acquisitions in 2015 of CIKT-FM Grande Prairie, AB from Bear Creek Broadcasting and stations in Edmonton, AB, Prince Albert, North Battleford and Meadow Lake, SK from Rawlco Radio. 
 
As part of the terms of sale, Pattison has also agreed to purchase FabVision, an outdoor signage business in Saskatchewan and online news portals mychilliwacknews.com, mytowntoday.ca and yourtownnews.ca, serving the residents of Chilliwack, Whitecourt and Melfort & their respective surrounding areas.  
 
This grows Pattison’s radio footprint as they will own and operate 44 FM, three AM radio stations in western Canada, along with 16 online news portals, three conventional television stations and one outdoor video signage division, subject to approval of this transaction by the CRTC.