SPRINT PUTTING ON WEIGHT
By Adnews Staff
The Canadian long distance phone service company that has movie and television star Candice Bergen pitching its services is on its way to getting a lot larger in Canada. Sprint Canada has made a deal to buy the assets of faltering competitor STN Incorporated for $19 million, subject to court approval. "STN's most important asset is its large customer base," said Sprint Canada president David Parkes in a release issued yesterday. STN's last announced customer count was 220,000, although that has diminished somewhat since the company went into receivership last month. Sprint itself refuses to give out the number of its subscribers. Sprint made the buyout agreement with KPMG Peat Marwick Thorne of Toronto, STN's court appointed receiver. Advertising for STN has been done by McBrain Sharp of St. Catharines, Ont. Grey Advertising is the agency behind the English ads for Sprint featuring Bergen, television's Murphy Brown. TAXI in Montreal does French language advertising in Canada. U.S.-based Sprint Corp. has a 25% interest in Sprint Canada, which is a subsidiary of Toronto-based Call-Net Enterprises Inc.