G.T.C. Transcontinental Group Acquires CanWest Newspapers

On August 8, 2002, G.T.C. Transcontinental Group Ltd. acquired all of CanWest Global Communications Corp.’s community newspapers and related assets in Atlantic Canada and Saskatchewan for a cash price of approximately $255 million, subject to post-closing adjustments. The transaction also included several weekly and monthly newspapers, shopping guides, telephone books and insert publications, as well as commercial printing operations in P.E.I. and Saskatchewan.

G.T.C. was represented in-house by Pierre Poirier, vice-president, legal affairs and administration, and secretary; Isabelle Marcoux, director, mergers and acquisitions; and Dany Meloul, director, legal affairs, and assistant secretary; along with Stikeman Elliott with a team consisting of Sidney Horn, Serge Tousignant, Sterling Dietze, Melissa Ross and Nicolas Beugnot (corporate), Robert Hogan (tax), Michel Legendre (pensions) and Jeff Brown and Susan Hutton (competition).

CanWest was represented in-house by Richard Leipsic, vice-president and general counsel, and Pamela Harrod, associate general counsel; assisted by Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP with a team consisting of Linda Robinson, Richard Pratt, Carl DeLuca and Alison Wilkie (corporate), David Tetreault and Jack Silverson (tax), Michelle Lally and Anne Carty (competition), Paul Litner and Terra Klinck (pensions) and Michael Hilliard (intellectual property).