Bassett Media cancels deals with Sidetrack Technologies, Haizou Media

Bassett Media Group Corp. has cancelled plans for two previously announced acquisitions. The Toronto-based advertising display company said Tuesday that it has nixed agreements to buy both Sidetrack Technologies Inc. and Haizou Media Corp. after concluding that neither was a strategic fit with its operations. Last August, Bassett said it would buy Sidetrack in a $3-million share-swap agreement that would've shifted the operator of full-motion advertising displays used in subway systems into its hands. In October, it signed a letter of intent to buy Haizou Media Corp., operator of advertising display screens in China, for at least $5 million.
Chief executive Matthew Bassett said that further due diligence led the company to conclude that neither would've worked with its own operations. He said his company continues to search for potential acquisitions. Bassett Media's two primary business units are advertising display companies Impulse Media and Concourse Media.