Stumbled across this at Kinsella's blog. The Toronto Star, reports the G&M, is emerging as the favourite to snap up the CanWest papers, including the utterly awful National Post.
Sources indicate a bid that includes newspaper owner Torstar Corp. is now emerging as a favourite, since it is expected to involve more cash than other offers.
The publisher of the Toronto Star and 97 other Ontario papers is backed by the deep pockets of Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., which owns 19 per cent of Torstar.
Torstar would come aboard as the operator of the CanWest papers, but would limit its exposure by contributing a relatively small amount of its own money, while relying on the financial muscle of Fairfax, the insurance company headed by Prem Watsa.
Among the CanWest assets, Torstar is believed to covet the Financial Post to bolster its flagship paper, the Star.
Lenny Asper is still in the running, seeking to get CanWest back, but apparently his offer is low on cash and high on debt, something the creditor banks may give a pass.
2 comments:
Would be a vast improvement if the 'National' Post were taken over by Torstar. Rumours are that TS would retain only the Financial Post and junk the rest.
Given the centre-right drift the Globe & Mail has taken in its post-Thompson era, I'd welcome a national, centre-left paper.
I suspect the Globe veered right to contest a readership battle with its perceived, sole rival. That said, I wouldn't expect it to return to an even keel even if the Post disappears.
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