Torstar, Osprey still in bidding for CanWest papers

A report in the Globe and Mail on Sept. 25 says that Torstar Corp. and Osprey Media are the only two bidders left vying for CanWest GlobalÔÇÖs southern Ontario newspapers.

The article said that Knight Paton Media Corp., an investment firm led by two former Sun Media Corp. executives, has left the bidding process.

CanWest has put up about 30 newspapers, including several community newspapers. Industry rumour has it that the process has been dragging on for several months because offers were below CanWest’s expectations.

CanWest recently sold 12 newspapers in Atlantic Canada and Saskatchewan to Montreal’s GTC Transcontinental Group Ltd. for $255-million. An article in the Sept. 27 edition of the National Post said that Transcontinental wants to buy family-owned printers and mailers of direct-marketing materials to expand in the U.S.

Globe and Mail article: globeandmail.com

National Post article: nationalpost.com/search/site/story.asp?id=FE31FFCD-9829-4B28-8527-A9051897B573