Canada's broadcast regulator has approved Cogeco Inc.'s acquisition of 11 Quebec radio stations once owned by Corus Entertainment.

In a ruling issued Friday, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission said Montreal-based Cogeco's participation in the market would ensure "diversity of information and public affairs programming in Montreal and the regions."

Cogeco bought the stations from Toronto-based Corus in 2009 for $80 million.

The CRTC has ordered Cogeco to sell off CKOY-FM in Sherbrooke, CJEC-FM in Quebec City and CFEL-FM in Lévis/Québec to avoid concentration of ownership.

It turned down a request to transform the CKOY-FM Sherbrooke station into a rebroadcasting transmitter of CKAC-AM Montreal, saying that would result in loss of a local voice.

However, it allowed Cogeco to hold three FM radio stations in the Montreal market, with one (CHMP-FM) devoted to a talk-radio format.

Cogeco has committed to establishing a news agency, to be called Cogeco Nouvelles, which will feed participating local stations with talk-radio content. The CRTC said it believed the news agency would free resources at small community stations for local coverage.

Cogeco is a major cable television and internet distributor in Ontario and Quebec. It now owns a total of 16 Quebec radio stations.