Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Fondaction CSN Invest in Serdy Media with a View
to Enriching Québec's Television Offering

MONTREAL, Oct. 13 /CNW Telbec/ - The Fonds de solidarité FTQ ("Fonds") and Fondaction, le Fonds de développement de la CSN pour la coopération et l'emploi, are proud to partner with Serdy Media Inc., the media division of Groupe Serdy, a Québec family business specializing in audiovisual production and owner of, among other things, the Évasion television network.

This partnership allows Serdy Media to expand its television programming in the Québec market. In March, the company launched Zeste, a promising new specialty channel dedicated to food and cooking. Zeste airs Québec content, including cooking shows starring chefs Daniel Vézina, Steven Raichlen and Antoine Sicotte, as well as programs from France, the U.S., England and Australia. In its first year of operation, Zeste has already generated over $4 million in spinoffs for Québec as a result of local productions and of dubbing, reformatting and subtitling of foreign programs, all of which help create and maintain a good number of jobs in Québec's cultural industry.

With this partnership, Groupe Serdy can meet the Québec public's growing taste for cooking shows, continue its growth in the audiovisual sector, and enhance its ability to move forward.

The Fonds de solidarité FTQ has been present in the cultural and recreational tourism industries for many years and is pleased to partner with and further the growth of this new company. "In a fast-moving industry such as television, you have to have a strong, experienced management team. We are impressed with the talent and leadership of the Serdy Media team and the way they have ventured into the promising market of specialty channels," said Gaétan Morin, the Fonds' executive vice-president of investments.

Fondaction is also excited about this agreement. "We're very happy to back this new francophone food channel. This is a promising market segment, and Serdy Media has everything it takes to make this network a success. With programming that is aiming for largely Québec content, Zeste will have a positive impact on our television industry," said Fondaction's chief investment officer, Régent Watier. 

The sentiment was echoed by president and CEO Sébastien Arsenault. "We are extremely fortunate to be able to count on Québec investors like these two venture capital funds to help us achieve our goals. Thanks to their combined strengths, we can all help make the Québec audiovisual industry even more creative and innovative, and continue offering the public a wide variety of programming."

About the Fonds de solidarité FTQ
The Fonds de solidarité FTQ helps drive our economy. With net assets of $7.3 billion as at May 31, 2010, the Fund is a development capital investment fund that channels the savings of Quebecers into investments in all sectors of the economy to help further Québec's economic growth. The Fund is a partner, either directly or through its network members, in 2,052 companies. With its 577,511 owner-shareholders, it has helped, on its own or with other financial partners, to create, maintain and protect 150,133 jobs. For more information, visit www.fondsftq.com.

About Fondaction
Created 15 years ago, Fondaction invests development capital in sustainable development initiatives in order to preserve and create quality jobs in Québec. With $700 million in assets under management, derived from the retirement savings collected from 100,000 shareholders, Fondaction is the financial partner of some 100 SMEs, general funds and specialized funds. It favours organizations that subscribe to a participatory management process, are active in the social economy (e.g. employee controlled, cooperatives) and practice environmental stewardship. www.fondaction.com

About Groupe Serdy
Groupe Serdy is a Québec-based company comprising the Évasion and Zeste television networks, production company Serdy Vidéo and Studios IdHD. In addition to producing and broadcasting the Tour de France on the Évasion channel, Groupe Serdy also organizes events, including the Grand Prix Cyclistes, recently held in Québec City and Montréal. This firmly established group, whose first division, Serdy Vidéo, was founded in 1978, continues to grow and today holds a prime position in the Québec television industry.  (www.evasion.tv, www.zeste.tv).

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