The acquisition includes 11 weekly and monthly titles as well as web portals that serve the
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Granby areas
MONTREAL, Aug. 1, 2011 /CNW Telbec/ - Transcontinental Media is proud to announce it is acquiring the publishing assets of Groupe Le Canada Franais, both print publications and websites. Papers acquired in the transaction include the prestigious Le Canada Franais, the paid local weekly with the largest circulation in Quebec, Le Richelieu in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Le Coup d'Oeil in Napierville, Le Journal L'Express in Granby, L'Avenir Des Rivires in Farnham and Le Guide in Cowansville. In all, they have a combined weekly circulation of more than 155,000 copies. A series of regional online information portals are also joining the Transcontinental Media digital network, including Canadafrancais.com, Granby.enregion.ca, Cowansville.enregion.ca, Farnham.enregion.ca and trouveztout.info, which reach over 30,000 unique visitors a week.
"The Groupe Le Canada Franais is a jewel of the weekly press in Quebec, a newspaper institution that shares our goals of excellence and rigour," said Natalie Larivire, President of Transcontinental Media. "We are proud and privileged to be continuing the Group's publishing tradition with its employees, talented people who have established its reputation over time. This acquisition fits with our plans for developing our network in Montrgie and enhancing our integrated offering to regional and national advertisers."
The three shareholders of the Groupe Le Canada Franais, Robert Paradis, Maryse Racicot-Gagnon and Renel Bouchard, said they are pleased with the transaction. Mr. Paradis, Groupe's President, noted that "we decided to pass the torch to Transcontinental, in whom we have developed respect and confidence through our long business relationship. This is a new milestone in the history of Canada Franais and our publications; not only does it ensure excellent continuity, it also opens the door to new possibilities." Following this transaction, the shareholders will focus on the operations of the other business groups held by the Groupe Le Canada Franais.
Le Canada Franais: 150 years of history
Deeply rooted in their markets, the publications of the Groupe Le Canada
Franais have a loyal readership and an established reputation. They
have built their traditions over the more than 150 years since the
newspaper Le Canada Franais was founded in 1860. A jewel of the French-language press in North
America, Le Canada Franais is still closely aligned with its community, as are the other titles
that have joined the Group over the years. These publications have won
many awards at the Quebec community newspaper awards, the Grands Prix
des Hebdos du Qubec, which pays tribute to quality and excellence in
community newspapers.
Served with great dedication by their professional and highly committed staff, now totalling some 160 employees and collaborators, the publications in the Groupe Le Canada Franais have created a special place for themselves in their regions. Like the newspapers of Transcontinental Media, they are close to the heart of their communities and provide their citizens with relevant local information. Since they work closely with advertisers and their communities, these titles will form a natural fit with Transcontinental Media and expand the scope of its operations in Montrgie.
With this acquisition, the Newspaper Division of Transcontinental Media's Local Solutions Group now publishes and distributes more than 2.8million copies every week in Quebec.
The titles of the Groupe Le Canada Franais will now all be printed and distributed by Transcontinental.
About Transcontinental Media
The fourth largest print media group in Canada, with more than 3,000
employees and annual revenues of $608 million in 2010, Transcontinental
Media reaches, through its multiplatform offering, over 18 million
consumers across Canada. The group is the largest publisher of consumer
magazines and French language educational resources in Canada, and the
largest publisher of local and regional newspapers in Quebec and the
Atlantic provinces. Transcontinental Media publishes the weekday daily
Metro in Montreal and Halifax. It is also the leading distributor of
door-to-door advertising material in Canada, with Publisac in Quebec
and Targeo in the rest of Canada. Transcontinental Media is
distinguished by its custom publishing, mailing and customized email
database, which allows marketers to connect efficiently with more than
six million consumers. Thanks to a wide digital network of more than
1,000 websites, Transcontinental Media reaches 11.3 million unique
visitors per month in Canada.
Transcontinental Media is a subsidiary of Transcontinental (TSX: TCL.A,
TCL.B, TCL.PR.D) which has operations in Canada, the United States and
Mexico, and reported revenue of C$2.1 billion in 2010.