Canwest Denies Sale of Slew Canadian Newspapers Controlled

Summary: Newspaper sale deals was said to have been transacted by Canwest owing to the fact that the company has a reported debt. Canwest denied the story.

A closed deal to sell Canwest Global Communication Corp.’s number of newspapers was reported but denied by the said company this Friday.

The company was referred to as a debt-addled media conglomerate which is said to have considered a line up of private equity funds to bid for National Post, the newspaper, led by its chief executive Paul Godfrey. But unidentified sources are cited and it is reported that a $3.9 billion debt is owed by Canwest from its lenders.

After this news has been received by Canwest, its spokesman John Douglas denied that the newspapers are for sale. He added to the Canadian press in his statement that the story is only pure speculation because the newspaper is a part of the Canwest Company. According to Globe and Mail, Godfrey refusing to comment on it only said that he is an employee of Canwest and his loyalty is in the said company where he is employed.

The Montreal Gazette, the Ottawa Citizen, the Vancouver Province, the Vancouver Sun, the Calgary Herald, and the Victoria Times-Colonist are the papers that Canwest owns. These are just examples of the largest daily newspapers that the company currently controls.

Still noted in the Globe and Mail story, some found transaction history of Godfrey has similarity with the situation. Just like the $411 million buyout of the former Toronto Sun Publishing in 1990 which he led. In 1999, $983 million was paid by Quebecor for the titles.