Media Giants Back Convergence Deal

[Winnipeg, CANDA] – CanWest, owners of Canada’s Global Television, will acquire 100 percent of the principal metropolitan operations of the Hollinger newspaper chain in Canada, with all of its Canadian Internet properties, its magazine group, most of the community publishing operations and a 50 percent interest in the National Post. This is the largest transaction in the history of the Canadian media industry.

The merged company will have national and local coverage in electronic and print media, plus the canada.com network, a group of national and local Internet sites.

In addition to 50 percent of the National Post, the deal includes 13 large metropolitan English language dailies; approximately 136 daily and weekly newspapers and shoppers in smaller communities; 85 trade publications and directories in the Southam Magazine and Information Group; and, all of the Hollinger and Southam Internet properties.

The merged assets do not include Hollinger’s French language newspapers and certain of its other non-metropolitan properties that Hollinger has indicated it will selectively sell or retain.

CanWest is poised to take a leadership position, according to Leonard Asper, president and chief executive officer of CanWest, with the merging of Hollinger’s canada.com, careerclick.com, and carsclick.com sites, and Hollinger’s newspaper sites, canada.com’s city portals and CanWest’s existing globaltv.com and specialty content Web sites. The Hollinger Internet properties will be integrated with CanWest immediately upon closing.

CanWest Global Communications Corp. is an international media company which owns, operates and/or holds substantial interests in conventional television, specialty cable channels and radio in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.