Telecoms firm Shaw Communications announced Monday it is buying some 20 Canadian television stations from beleaguered media titan Canwest Global Communications for two billion dollars. The deal to buy a minimum 20 percent equity interest and 80 percent voting interest in a restructured Canwest was already announced in February, but no dollar amount was released at the time. The total value of the deal includes 815 million dollars of debt that Canwest took on when it acquired the specialty channels from Alliance Atlantis in 2007. The rest of the purchase will be paid for in cash and through Shaw's existing credit facility, Shaw said in a statement. Goldman Sachs, which controlled some 65 percent of the Canwest specialty television unit, had fought Shaw's bid, but has now agreed to sell its shares to Shaw for 700 million dollars, the company said. The deal has also been approved by Canwest's board and the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, it said. Shaw chief executive Jim Shaw described the purchase as a 'transformative transaction' that positions the cable provider as 'one of the leading entertainment and communications companies in Canada.' Winnipeg-based Canwest Global's television operations were put under court protection in October, after advertising revenues fell in a dour economy. Analysts said the company expanded too fast over the past decade, accumulating 3.75 billion US dollars of debt that is now weighing it down. Its Canadian newspaper division, which includes the Vancouver Sun, the Calgary Herald and the Ottawa Citizen, followed suit in January. These are not included in the Shaw purchase. Shaw shares fell almost two percent in morning trading to 18.71 dollars in Toronto, following the announcement of the Canwest deal. Analysts said they would have preferred Shaw focus on its 2011 wireless network rollout. 