Quebecor withdraws bond issue it planned to use to buy Osprey

One of the ways that Quebecor was going to pay for its purchase of Osprey Media Income Fund was to sell a junk bond issue. But the company has cancelled plans to float a $750 million issue in the face of what's described as "a jittery junk bond market", according to a Reuters story. Quebecor's timing could hardly have been worse, having announced its plans only a day before there was a sharp

Quebecor forced to up its bid to win Osprey Media Income Fund

The unitholders of the Osprey Media Income Fund will probably put Torstar and Black Press on their Christmas card list this year. Quebecor Inc. was trying to buy Osprey for $7.45 a unit when Black came along and offered $8.25. (See previous posts. No fair, said Quebecor, we had a lock on this. Not so, said the courts. Oops, said Quebecor and upped its bid to $8.45, which will probably do the

Quebecor asks court to forbid Osprey Media from accepting higher bid

Quebecor Inc. is asking the courts to forbid Osprey Media Income Fund from considering or dealing with takeover bids from anyone else. This is aimed directly at the Torstar-backed bid by Black Press Ltd. of Victoria to up the ante for the Osprey newspapers and magazines; it topped the Quebecor bid by $1 a unit. Quebecor's application will be heard -- and defended -- at the Superior Court of

Osprey Media Income Fund still in play and the price keeps going up

The sale of newspaper and magazine company Osprey Media Income Fund looked like a slam dunk for Quebecor Media, leaving a bruised Torstar group sulking in the corner. Torstar and Quebecor have been squabbling about who did what to whom and about whether or not they had a deal to split up the Osprey properties, which include well-known dailies like the St. Catharines Standard and the Kingston

Osprey Media bought by Quebecor

Quebecor Media has purchased Osprey Media Income Fund for $517 million. Michael Sifton put together the Osprey Media chain of newspapers and magazines out of the smaller dailies and weekly newspapers and magazines that CanWest Media either didn't want or wanted to sell to pay down debt from buying Conrad Black out of his Hollinger empire. In all, Sifton's company bought 54 newspapers, including

Torstar rumoured to be looking at Osprey Media

Speculation is increasing that Osprey Media Income Fund, which has been struggling to maintain enough profits to continue paying distributions to its fund holders, may be sold to Torstar.A story in the Globe and Mail suggests a possible deal whereby Torstar would buy and keep (or fold) various dailies and weeklies that overlap with or fit with its own dominance in south central Ontario. The

Osprey on the block

Osprey MediaIncome Trust, the holding company for many small newspapers and magazines, has been struggling to retain investor interest in the face of declining distributions. This was not made easier by the government's decision to begin taxing income trusts in a few years.According to a story in the Globe and Mail and a release by the company, the board of the trust has decided "to proceed with

Osprey continues to struggle with ads and unit value

Osprey Media Income Fund, an owners of small daily and weekly newspapers and small magazines, has written down about$170 million of its value, blaming a slumping advertising market, particularly automotive.The company has seen the price of its units steadily erode, threatening its ability to make the kinds of distributions that keep people happy with income trusts. Last fall, the value of its

Income trust rule changes will affect magazines

No matter what happens on the financial markets this morning as a result of the government's surprise decision on income trusts (taking away much of their tax advantages) it will impact the magazine industry. As but two examples (some readers may suggest others), consider Rogers Media, which had recently become a partner with Aeroplan, the Air Canada points system, an income trust that was