QUEBECOR SNAGS MOST SUN MEDIA SHARES
By Adnews Staff
Montreal-based Quebecor Inc. has announced that 99.5% of Sun Media Corp.'s outstanding common shares have been transferred to Quebecor. The company has also extended its offer to Jan. 18 to shareholders who have not yet deposited their shares and intends to exercise its right of compulsory acquisition under the Business Corporations Act to acquire any remaining common shares not deposited by that time.
Quebecor made an offer to acquire Sun Media in December for $983 million. The company then plans to sell four of Sun Media's Ontario broadsheet daily newspapers to Torstar Corp. of Toronto, which was also trying to buy Sun Media. The newspapers to be purchased by Torstar are The Hamilton Spectator, The Kitchener-Waterloo Record, The Guelph Mercury and The Cambridge Reporter. In addition, Torstar has agreed to provide an option for Quebecor, or a subsidiary, to purchase up to eight Ontario weekly newspapers from Torstar. Quebecor may also sell Torstar certain weekly Ontario newspapers.
Under completion of the Quebecor agreement, Sun Media properties will be merged with Quebecor's four daily newspapers and 56 weekly newspapers. The resulting company will control 21.6% of the daily newspaper circulation in Canada.