Sun Media

Sun Media Corporation
Subsidiary
Industry Printing
Fate Sold to Postmedia Network
Founded February 4, 1978
(as Sun Publishing)
Defunct April 13, 2015
Headquarters Toronto
Key people
 Pierre Karl Péladeau - Former President & CEO
Products Newspapers

Sun Media Corporation was the owner of several tabloid and broadsheet newspapers in Canada and the 49 percent owner of the now defunct Sun News Network. It was a subsidiary of Quebecor Media.

On October 6, 2014, Quebecor Media announced the sale of the remaining English-language print assets of Sun Media to rival Postmedia. The sale did not include the Sun News Network, which subsequently closed when a buyer was not found, nor Quebecor's French-language papers Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec.[1] The sale was approved by the federal Competition Bureau on March 25, 2015,[2][3] and closed on April 13.[4] Canoe Sun Media merged with Postmedia rather than being maintained as a separate division.[5]

Quebecor had previously sold its community newspapers in Quebec to TC Transcontinental in June 2014, under a deal first announced in December 2013.[6]

History

Sun Publishing was formed on February 4, 1978 through the amalgamation of Toronto Sun Holdings Ltd and Toronto Sun Publishing Ltd. The two companies had been formed in 1971 with the launch of the Toronto Sun by former staffers of the defunct Toronto Telegram. On February 14, 1978, the Edmonton Sun, the second member of what would become the Sun chain, was announced through a partnership of Sun Media and Edmonton Sun Publishing Ltd. The paper was launched on April 2, 1978. In 1981, the outstanding shares of Edmonton Sun Publishing Ltd were acquired by Sun Media. The company purchased the Calgary Albertan on July 31, 1980 for $1.3 million and relaunched it days later as the Calgary Sun, with the same format and appearance as its sister papers.

In 1983, 50% of Sun Media was acquired by Maclean-Hunter for $55 million. That same year, Sun Media, with Maclean-Hunter's backing, acquired the Houston Post for $100 million in an attempt to expand into the United States. It was sold for $150 million four years later. In 1987, Maclean-Hunter's Financial Post weekly was sold to Sun Media for $46 million and was relaunched as a daily tabloid financial newspaper the following year. In 1988, Sun Media acquired the Ottawa Sunday Herald which it would relaunch as the daily Ottawa Sun.[7]

In 1994, Maclean-Hunter was purchased by Rogers Communications. Two years later, on October 4, 1996, the management of the Sun chain under the leadership of Paul Godfrey purchased Rogers' share of the Sun Publishing and renamed the company Sun Media. In 1998, the Financial Post was sold to Southam Inc. in exchange for the Hamilton Spectator, the Kitchener-Waterloo Record, the Guelph Mercury, and the Cambridge Reporter. Also in 1998, Sun Media was purchased by Quebecor and maintained as a wholly owned subsidiary of it. Godfrey had sought out Quebecor as a "white knight" in order to frustrate an attempted hostile takeover by the Sun's longtime rival, the Toronto Star. In 1999, Quebcor sold the four recently acquired southern Ontario newspapers to the owners of the Toronto Star and became part of its Metroland Media Group. Southam, owned by Conrad Black, would relaunch the Financial Post as the National Post. In 2007, Sun Media acquired and absorbed the Osprey Media chain of small English language newspapers mostly based in Ontario. In 2014, after years of cuts and restructuring, Quebecor sold its Sun Media division to Postmedia which, ironically, had former Sun Media CEO Paul Godfrey as its chief executive. The sale was completed in April 2015 and Sun Media was dissolved with its newspapers being absorbed by the Postmedia chain.

Sun Media publications

Sun newspapers

Le Journal newspapers

24hrs newspapers

Local daily newspapers

Alberta

Manitoba

Ontario

Weekly newspapers

Alberta

Manitoba

Ontario

Saskatchewan

Other publications

Magazines

Former publications

The following publications have been closed by Sun Media:[8]

Sold

References

  1. ↑ http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/quebecor-sells-sun-media-english-newspapers-to-postmedia-in-316m-deal-1.2788693
  2. ↑ "Postmedia gets OK from Competition Bureau to buy Sun Media newspapers". Toronto Star. March 25, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Postmedia buys Sun Media’s English titles for $316-million — including flagship Toronto Sun". National Post. October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  4. ↑ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/postmedia-sun-media-deal-officially-closes/article23895298/
  5. ↑ http://en.canoe.com/home.html
  6. ↑ TC Transcontinental (2014-06-02). "Transcontinental Inc. completes transaction with the Sun Media Corporation in Quebec". Retrieved 2014-10-09.
  7. ↑ http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sun-media-corporation/
  8. ↑ Sun Media cutting 360 jobs, closing 8 publications, 3 free dailies. 680News (2013-07-16). Retrieved on 2013-08-17.

External links

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