Postmedia Network Canada Corporation (also known as Postmedia NetworkorPostmedia) is a Canadian media company consisting of the publishing properties of the former Canwest, with primary operations in newspaper publishing, news gathering and Internet operations.
The ownership group was assembled by National Post CEO Paul Godfrey[3] in 2010 to bid for the chain of newspapers being sold by the financially troubled Canwest (the company's broadcasting assets were sold separately to Shaw Communications). Godfrey secured financial backing from a U.S. private equity firm, the Manhattan-based hedge fund GoldenTree Asset Management—which owns 35 per cent—as well as IJNR Investment Trust, Nyppex and other investors.[3] The group completed a $1.1 billion transaction to acquire the chain from Canwest on July 13, 2010. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, the company has over 4,700 employees.[4] The company's shares were listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2011.[5]
The company's strategy has seen its publications invest greater resources in digital news gathering and distribution, including expanded websites and digital news apps for smartphones and tablets.[6] This began with a revamp and redesign of the Ottawa Citizen, which debuted in 2014.[6]
History
On July 13, 2010 the Manhattan-based hedge fund, Golden Tree Asset Management acquired the Asper family’s bankrupt CanWest media empire for $1.1 billion.[3]
On October 6, 2014, Postmedia's CEO Godfrey announced a deal to acquire the English-language operations of Sun Media.[3][7] The purchase received regulatory approval from the federal Competition Bureau on March 25, 2015,[8] even though the company manages competitive papers in several Canadian cities; while the Sun Media chain owns numerous other papers, four of its five Sun-branded tabloids operate in markets where Postmedia already publishes a broadsheet competitor.[7] Board chair Rod Phillips has cited the Vancouver market, in which the two main daily newspapers, the Vancouver Sun and The Province, have had common ownership for over 30 years, as evidence that the deal would not be anticompetitive.[7] The purchase did not include Sun Media's now-defunct Sun News Network.[7] The acquisition was approved by the Competition Bureau on March 25, 2015,[9] and closed on April 13.[10]
In 2016, the company sought to restructure its compensation plans and reduce spending by as much as 20%, after reporting a net loss of $99.4 million, or 35 cents per diluted share, in the fourth-quarter ended Aug 31, compared with a $54.1 million net loss, or 19 cents per diluted share, in the same period a year earlier. This resulted in 90 newsroom staff losing their jobs.[11]
In March 2018, the Competition Bureau issued a court filing accusing the two companies of structuring the deal with no-compete clauses in an effort to reduce competition in the newspaper industry, in violation of the Competition Act.[14][15]
On November 27, 2018, The Competition Bureau applied for a court evaluation contesting Postmedia’s claims of solicitor-client privilege, for records seized by the bureau during raids at the company's offices.[17]
CAD$171 million (2018)[1]
