Postmedia

The company was incorporated as 7535538 Canada Inc. on April 26, 2010 and renamed Postmedia Network Canada Corp. that July; on July 13 it completed the purchase of substantially all of Canwest Limited Partnership’s assets, including National PostNational PostThe National Post is a Canadian national daily newspaper founded by Conrad Black in 1998; it passed to CanWest Global Communications between 2000 and 2002 and has been owned by Postmedia since 2010.Open the full entry Inc., for about C$1.047 billion, of which C$927.8 million was cash.⁠[1]

Paul Godfrey served as chief executive from the company’s creation in 2010.⁠[2]

The company’s shares began trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on June 14, 2011.⁠[3]

Postmedia agreed with Quebecor Media to buy Sun Media’s 175 English-language newspapers, specialty publications and digital properties for C$316 million in cash, including the Toronto Sun, Ottawa Sun, Winnipeg Sun, Calgary Sun, Edmonton Sun, London Free Press, the free 24 Hours dailies in Toronto and Vancouver, and the Canoe portal outside Quebec.⁠[4]

The Competition Bureau issued Postmedia a no-action letter and did not oppose its purchase of Quebecor’s Sun Media English-language assets, on the grounds of limited close rivalry between Postmedia’s broadsheets and Sun’s English-language tabloids and increasingly competitive digital alternatives.⁠[5]

With the closing, Postmedia added more than 2,500 employees and more than 170 brands; it raised C$173.5 million by issuing variable voting shares and issued C$140 million of 8.25% senior secured notes. Paul Godfrey said Postmedia thereby became “one of Canada’s largest newsmedia companies.”⁠[6]

As of fiscal 2015, Postmedia described itself as Canada’s largest daily newspaper publisher by circulation, publishing 15 metropolitan dailies, 27 community dailies and 123 non-daily community papers and shopping guides.⁠[3]

Postmedia signed support agreements with Canso and an ad hoc committee of second-lien noteholders: second-lien notes would convert into about 98% of the post-transaction common equity, leaving existing shareholders about 2%; the company would repay C$78 million to first-lien holders at par and issue C$225 million of new first-lien notes due 2021.⁠[7]

Before the deal, foreign-owned Class B shares made up about 98% of the stock but were capped at 49.9% of votes, while Canadian-owned Class A shares held a voting majority on matters such as electing directors.⁠[8]

Postmedia obtained an interim court order and set out voting arrangements; assuming a 100-to-1 share consolidation, funds advised by Chatham Asset Management would hold about 64.7% of the outstanding shares after the transaction, which required shareholder approval under exchange rules.⁠[9]

The recapitalization took effect under a court-approved plan of arrangement; David J. Pecker, Daniel Rotstein and Mary E. Junck joined the boards, and five directors including Charlotte Burke stepped down.⁠[10]

Postmedia and Torstar’s Metroland swapped newspapers: Postmedia planned to close 21 of the 22 community papers it received plus the free dailies Metro Winnipeg and Metro Ottawa, cutting 244 jobs, while Metroland closed three of the seven Ontario dailies it received.⁠[11]

Executive chairman and CEO Paul Godfrey said most of the operations “no longer have viable business models.”⁠[11]

Competition Bureau officers executed search warrants at the Toronto-area headquarters of Postmedia and Torstar over alleged conduct contrary to the Competition Act’s conspiracy provisions; Commissioner John Pecman said there was no conclusion of wrongdoing and no charges had been laid. Postmedia said it was “strongly of the view that there has been no contravention” and that it was co-operating.⁠[12][13]

The Competition Bureau announced it had obtained a court order to advance its investigation of Postmedia and Torstar and reiterated that there was no conclusion of wrongdoing.⁠[14]

The Competition Bureau closed its investigation: the swap had involved 41 newspapers, 36 of which later closed, and after reviewing the evidence the Bureau concluded that no further action was warranted.⁠[15]

Postmedia signed a deal to sell the Winnipeg Sun, the Graphic Leader and the Kenora Miner & News to Klein Group Ltd.⁠[16]

Postmedia Network Inc. announced plans to buy certain businesses of SaltWire Network and The Halifax Herald, which had been under creditor protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act since March 2024. Chief executive Andrew MacLeod said SaltWire’s “current operational model is unsustainable.”⁠[17]

A Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge approved the sale on August 8, and Postmedia later confirmed closing the C$1-million purchase, which included The Chronicle Herald, the Cape Breton Post, The Guardian and The Telegram.⁠[18]

Postmedia said its Moncton, New Brunswick, printing plant would close in August with printing outsourced, adding that it was not discontinuing print publication in the province; the plant printed papers including the Daily Gleaner, Times & Transcript and Telegraph-Journal, which Postmedia bought from the Irving family in 2022 for C$16 million in cash and shares.⁠[19]

Postmedia announced it would exit flyer distribution, phasing it out from June 8 and finishing by the end of August, eliminating 50 full-time and 200 part-time positions; the company said the move would help it keep pace with industry change and consumer preferences.⁠[20]

Postmedia: Official website: https://www.postmedia.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[3]