Ad blocking detected

Thank you for visiting CanadianInsider.com. We have detected you cannot see ads being served on our site due to blocking. Unfortunately, due to the high cost of data, we cannot serve the requested page without the accompanied ads.

If you have installed ad-blocking software, please disable it (sometimes a complete uninstall is necessary). Private browsing Firefox users should be able to disable tracking protection while visiting our website. Visit Mozilla support for more information. If you do not believe you have any ad-blocking software on your browser, you may want to try another browser, computer or internet service provider. Alternatively, you may consider the following if you want an ad-free experience.

Canadian Insider Ultra Club
$500/ year*
Daily Morning INK newsletter
+3 months archive
Canadian Market INK weekly newsletter
+3 months archive
30 publication downloads per month from the PDF store
Top 20 Gold, Top 30 Energy, Top 40 Stock downloads from the PDF store
All benefits of basic registration
No 3rd party display ads
JOIN THE CLUB

* Price is subject to applicable taxes.

Paid subscriptions and memberships are auto-renewing unless cancelled (easily done via the Account Settings Membership Status page after logging in). Once cancelled, a subscription or membership will terminate at the end of the current term.

TC Media sells its 30 publications in the Montréal and Québec City areas

MONTREAL, April 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Transcontinental Inc.’s (TSX:TCL.A) (TSX:TCL.B) (TSX:TCL.R) Media Sector, TC Media, announced today the sale of 30 publications, including 21 weeklies in the Montréal area, the Métro Montréal weekday newspaper, as well as 8 publications in the Québec City area to a Canadian corporation of which Mr. Michael Raffoul, a Montréal-based businessman, is President. The transaction includes all web properties related to the titles sold as well as the Québec Hebdo website. In total, 119 employees of the various publications and 20 employees from TC Media’s Production team are transferred to the acquirer. TC Transcontinental also concluded a multi-year agreement for the printing of all of these titles, as well as for the distribution, with the exception of Métro Montréal, which is already under contract with Mr. Raffoul’s print media distribution company.

In addition to the Métro Montréal newspaper, the Montréal-area publications included in this transaction are: Ambiance/Rendez Vous, L’Avenir de l’Est, Cités Nouvelles, Courrier Ahuntsic, Courrier Bordeaux-Cartierville, Corriere Italiano, L’Express d’OutremontL’Express Mont-Royal, Le Flambeau Mercier-Anjou, Le Guide Montréal-Nord, Le Magazine de l’Île-des-Sœurs, L’Informateur de Rivière-des-Prairies, Journal de Rosemont, Messager Lachine & Dorval, Le Messager LaSalle, Le Messager Verdun, Nouvelles Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Les Nouvelles Saint-Laurent News, Le Plateau, Progrès Saint-Léonard, Villeray–Parc-Ex Petite Patrie and La Voix Pop. For the Québec City area: L’Actuel, L’Appel, L’Autre Voix, Beauport Express, Charlesbourg Express, Le Jacques-Cartier, Journal Habitation and Le Québec Express, as well as the Québec Hebdo website.

“It is with much pride that we have served the Montréal and Québec City communities for many decades with the local newspapers and the reputed Métro Montréal weekday newspaper,” said François Olivier, President and Chief Executive Officer of TC Transcontinental. “Today, we hand over these publications to Michael Raffoul, an entrepreneur who is active in print media-related services. He and his team will be able to deploy their business plan and will be supported on a daily basis by the people of these publications who bring outstanding expertise. I take this opportunity to thank all our employees for having put their passion and dedication to the service of our print media and our customers in the Montréal and Québec City areas and wish them the very best for the future in Mr. Raffoul’s team.”

Michael Raffoul, the acquirer of these titles, said: “The print media industry has been at the heart of our business for a long time. Because of this unique relationship that binds us together, we truly understand the importance of newspapers in the communities. The acquisition of these quality publications thus reinforces our position in the industry, furthering our growth and development opportunities. We are extremely enthusiastic about taking this step today and becoming the publisher of this exceptional portfolio alongside the talented TC Media team. With rigour and respect, we will carry on this tradition of excellence together.”

“To conclude, I would like to mention how satisfied and pleased we are with the outcome of the ongoing sale process for our local newspapers in Québec and Ontario launched a year ago,” noted François Olivier. “With the transaction announced today, only 5 of the 93 newspapers up for sale are left in the process and we continue to have discussions with potential buyers. We would like to thank all of these local owners who took the lead by acquiring our publications and who will, in turn, perpetuate the kind of quality information necessary to the vitality of the regions. We are especially proud of the results of this process since the vast majority of jobs have been maintained within the communities and in TC Media’s Local Solutions teams in Montréal.”

ABOUT TC TRANSCONTINENTAL

TC Transcontinental is Canada's largest printer and a key supplier of flexible packaging in North America. The Corporation is also a leader in its specialty media segments. TC Transcontinental's mission is to create products and services that allow businesses to attract, reach and retain their target customers.

Respect, teamwork, performance and innovation are strong values held by TC Transcontinental and its employees. TC Transcontinental's commitment to its stakeholders is to pursue its business activities in a responsible manner.

TC Transcontinental currently has over 6,100 employees in Canada and the United States, and had revenues of approximately $2.0 billion for the fiscal year ended October 29, 2017. For more information, visit TC Transcontinental's website at www.tc.tc.

For information:

For TC Transcontinental
Nathalie St-Jean                                                                                 
Senior Advisor, Corporate Communications
TC Transcontinental
Telephone: 514-954-3581                                                                               
[email protected]
www.tc.tc

Financial Community
Shirley Chenny
Advisor, Investor Relations
TC Transcontinental
Telephone: 514-954-4166
[email protected]
www.tc.tc

For the acquirer
Yves Bédard
General Manager, Métro Montréal
Telephone: 514-572-6879
[email protected]

Sylviane Lussier
Regional General Manager
Montréal-Québec
Telephone: 514-770-8101
[email protected]

 

Comment On!

140
Upload limit is up to 1mb only
To post messages to your Socail Media account, you must first give authorization from the websites. Select the platform you wish to connect your account to CanadianInsider.com (via Easy Blurb).