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Transcontinental to Sell Consumer Magazines to TVA

Transcontinental Inc. of Montreal announced that it is selling its Toronto- and Montreal-based consumer magazines and associated Websites, as well as all related platforms, to TVA Group for $55.5 million. The transaction is subject to approval by regulators, including Canada’s Competition Bureau.

The move is to effect some 310 people at Transcontinental’s TC Media division.

TVA Inc. is a Montreal-based communications company with operations in broadcasting, publishing and production. Quebecor Media, owned by Quebecor Inc.. holds voting control of the company with the near-complete ownership of TVA Group’s Class A shares.

In June 2014, Transcontinental purchased a majority of Quebecor Media’s newspaper assets operated by Sun Media in a $75 million deal.

As part of this new magazine transaction, Transcontinental also signed a parallel agreement with TVA Group to print the purchased consumer magazines and TVA’s marketing products for a period of seven years, and to extend the contracts signed in December 2013 to print certain TVA Group magazines to the end of June 2022.

“Today’s agreement creates twofold value for Transcontinental Inc.,” stated Francois Olivier, President and CEO of Transcontinental. “In one stroke we have also improved the book of business for our printing sector.”

Olivier also shared his views of the magazine sector in relation to TVA’s purchase: “In the context of the highly competitive magazine industry that is experiencing a proliferation of platforms and generated content as well as migration of advertising revenues towards digital media, Transcontinental Inc. has decided to sell its consumer magazines produced in Montreal and Toronto to TVA Group whose platforms will enable the continued evolution of these magazines.”

Some of the higher profile magazine properties involved in this transaction include: Coup de pouce; Elle Quebec; Decormag; Le Bel Age Magazine; Magazine Vero; recettes.qc.ca; Canadian Living; Style at Home; Elle Canada; Good Times; and The Hockey News. The magazines Vancouver Magazine and Western Living, distributed in Western Canada, remain the property of TC Media.

“Furthermore, Transcontinental Inc. has decided to now focus on the local advertising market, which offers us more business opportunities through our 180-odd newspapers in Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and the Atlantic provinces,” said Olivier. “This important phase in the evolution of the corporation also gives TC Media full latitude to further develop its digital and interactive marketing products for retailers, among others, and to advance the production and delivery of content in the fields of business and education.”