Transcontinental buys 74 Sun Media papers for $75M

A day after laying off 200 employees across the country, Sun Media has sold 74 community papers in Quebec to the media division of Transcontinental Inc. of Montreal.

TC Media, owner of Canadian Living, Elle Canada and the Metro daily newspaper in Montreal, will pay $75 million for the community papers and their digital properties.

Acquiring Sun Medias 74 community papers in Quebec is in line with our strategy to strengthen the core assets of TC Media and develop a local digital media offering for businesses and communities,Franois Olivier, president of Transcontinental, said in a statement.

Olivier said the acquisition will also boostTC Medias digital presence.

The deal for the Quebeccommunity papers will add about $20 million in operating income to Transcontinental revenues, it said..

Sun Media, owned by Quebecor, retains ownership of Le Journal de Montreal, Le Journal deQuebec, 24 heures in Montreal and the QMI news service, but is selling the rest of its Quebec holdings. It also retains the Sun newspapers and 24 Hours inToronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton,

Quebecor also agreed to print some of its magazines and direct marketing materials on Transcontinental presses.

The deal must be approved by the Competition Bureau, and Sun Media will continue publishing the weeklies until approval comes through.

None of the layoffs Sun announced Thursdayaffectsthe Quebec papers.

The same day, Transcontinental also announced its net losses inthe fourth quarter nearly doubled to $92.2 million as revenues fell3.2 per cent to $566.3 million.

Adjusting for one-time items, it earned $58.2 million, down sixper cent from $61.9 million a year earlier. Earnings for the periodended Oct. 31 decreased by two cents per share to 75 cents.