David Black has submitted a proposal to buy Hollinger InternationalÔÇÖs British Columbia newspapers, according to a published report in the January 29th issue of the Vancouver Sun.
According to the story, Black put in an offer to the New York investment bank handling the divestiture of Hollinger International Inc.’s assets prior to Christmas. Some of the titles that could be included in any potential deal would be the Fernie (BC) Free Press and the Grand Forks (BC) Gazette.
ÔÇ£I donÔÇÖt know where itÔÇÖs at,ÔÇØ Black was quoted in the article as saying. ÔÇ£We havenÔÇÖt heard back from them in the last little while.ÔÇØ
Black Press currently owns 95 papers in B.C., Alberta, Washington and Hawaii. If he were to acquire the Hollinger titles, he would raise the number of newspapers he owns in the province to 72. Black owns 80 per cent of Black Press with the remainder being owned by Torstar Corporation.