Transcontinental Inc. is divesting its assets in the province of Saskatchewan in a transaction that includes the sale of its 13 local newspapers and associated Web properties.
The asset sale to Star News Publishing Inc., a local newspaper publisher and printer with interests in Saskatchewan and Alberta, includes some commercial printing equipment and related book of business in Saskatchewan.
The sale of the local newspapers is effective immediately as of the end of May, while the printing plant, located at 56th Street East in Saskatoon, will remain in operation for a transition period, after which it will close. The closure of the Saskatoon printing plant will result in the loss of approximately 30 full time positions when the transition period is complete.
“Given challenging market conditions and limited synergies with the rest of our assets, primarily in Quebec and Eastern Canada, we have made the decision to divest of our newspaper publications, located throughout Saskatchewan,” said Julia Kamula, Senior Vice-President, TC Media Local Solutions.
“From a geographic perspective, the reality of operating a small number of newspapers in Western Canada was simply not efficient for TC Media,” continued Kamula. “The new owner’s portfolio of assets is much more aligned with these publications, better enabling their growth and continued evolution. This transaction is a very positive development for both our employees and these operations moving forward.”
The newspapers involved in this transaction are:
Moose Jaw – The Moose Jaw Times Herald (Daily) and unCut (Weekly)
Prince Albert – The Prince Albert Daily Herald (Daily), Rural Roots (Weekly) and SHOP P.A. (Periodical)
Swift Current – The Southwest Booster (Weekly)
Coronach – The Triangle News (Weekly)
Grenfell – The Grenfell Sun (Weekly)
Broadview – The Broadview Express (Weekly)
Oxbow – The Oxbow Herald (Weekly)
Radville – The Radville Star (Weekly) and Deep South Star (Weekly)
Southern Life (Monthly)
“In light of the current print market, we must continuously adapt and review our equipment utilization to maximize our printing platform,” said Jacques Grégoire, President of TC Transcontinental Printing. “Given the sale of our local newspapers and the remaining commercial printing volume in the plant, we made the decision to dispose of our printing assets in Saskatchewan.”
Roger W. Holmes, owner of Star News Publishing Inc. added: “With our long-standing and innovative printing and publishing roots in Saskatchewan and Alberta, we feel we are well positioned to take the TC Transcontinental publications and print operations to the next level.”
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