Alliance Atlantis Acquired by Canadian Conglomerate

CanWest Global Communications Corp. and a private equity unit of Goldman Sachs & Co. will acquire Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. for C$2.3 billion (U.S. $1.96 billion). Alliance Atlantis co-produces the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation TV show franchise and owns 13 specialty channels. Alliance's stake in CSI will be fully owned by Goldman Sachs Capital Partners. As part of the deal, CBS will become the international distributor of the CSI franchise.