Competition Bureau clears Optipress sale

The Competition Bureau will not challenge Transcontinental’s recent purchase of Optipress and its 25 community newspapers.

A press release from the Bureau stated it had reviewed the purchase paying close attention to ÔÇ£communities where the merging parties own both the daily and weekly papers.ÔÇØ  The Bureau decided that the publications in the deal were not ÔÇ£strong direct competitorsÔÇØ in their advertising markets.

On January 16, Transcontinental announced that Optipress shareholders had accepted its takeover bid. In addition to the newspapers, Optipress owns nine printing plants and a network of digital reproduction centres in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.

Transcontinental is one of the 10 largest commercial printers in North America and is Canada’s largest printer of flyers, books and newspapers. Optipress started in July 2002 as a merger of Newfoundland Capital Corporation Limited and Cameron Publications Limited. 

The Bureau is a law enforcement agency that seeks to preserve a competitive economy. It is responsible for enforcing the Competition Act, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, the Textile Labelling Act and the Precious Metals Marking Act.