The nightmare that was the future of one of Canada’s largest newspaper networks has finally come to a close and it will soon be business as usual. The Ontario Superior Court approved the sale of the assets, which include National Post, the Montreal Gazette, Calgary Herald, the Vancouver Sun and Ottawa Citizen, to a group of creditors led by National Post President and CEO Paul Godfrey for 1.1 billion Canadian dollars ($1 billion), including CA$950 million in cash. Ontario Superior Court Judge Sarah Pepall was the preciding judge in this case which will result in jobs for all Canwest’s full-time employees and only a 10 percent cut in its part-time work force.
According to an article in the Globe and Mail the group buying the newspapers includes U.S. hedge fund Golden Tree Asset Management, TD Asset Management, Invesco Trimark and others.
Canwest lawyer Lyndon Barnes said the company will continue moving forward with its plan to close the sale. The Godfrey-led group is aiming to finalize the purchase by mid-July.