QUEBECOR TO BUY SUN MEDIA
By Adnews Staff
Quebecor Inc. has beaten Torstar Corp. to the punch line. Quebecor has entered into an agreement to purchase Sun Media Corp. of Toronto for $983 million. Holders of 34% of Sun Media common shares have irrevocably agreed to tender the Quebecor bid. The offer will be mailed to Sun Media shareholders by Dec. 18. It will be open for acceptance for a minimum of 21 days. "We believe that the Quebecor bid provides Sun Media shareholders with an attractive opportunity to achieve fair value for their shares," Sun Media chairman Clare Copeland says in a release. Under the deal, Quebecor will combine the assets of Sun Media with their own existing newspaper assets. Quebecor publishes four daily newspapers: Le Journal de Montreal, Le Journal de Quebec, the Winnipeg Sun and the Sherbrooke Record. In addition, it has 56 weekly and community newspapers. If the deal goes through, Quebecor would control 25.4% of the daily newspaper circulation in Canada. Sun Media publishes seven daily newspapers, seven daily community newspapers, 96 weekly community newspapers and shopping guides in Canada and in Florida, as well as 19 farming and other specialty publications. The Quebecor bid is still subject to acceptance by shareholders and regulatory approvals.
Earlier this week, Torstar sweetened its bid to buy Sun Media, offering the publisher $900 million. Any Sun shareholders who have tendered their shares to the Torstar offer must withdraw them by midnight on Dec. 23 in order to take advantage of the higher price being offered by Quebecor. In October, Torstar offered $748 million.