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“It was only after the higher deal with NordStar was publicly announced that CMMH suggested it would have increased the cash component to 80 cents.”
Even before Tuesday’s shareholder meeting was held, the company said it had already garnered the support of 98 per cent of its shareholders, and 80 per cent of its minority shareholders.
The media company, like many other legacy newspaper groups across North America, has been struggling to build advertising revenue, even on its digital side, as tech giants such as Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc. have effectively eaten up most of the advertising dollars that would have traditionally gone to media outlets.
The pandemic has exacerbated this dynamic — in April, Torstar laid off 85 staff, and slashed executive pay even as readership was rising due to the interest in COVID-related news.
In a recent interview with the Financial Post, incoming owners Bitove and Rivett appeared unfazed by the state of the media landscape in Canada, and emphasized that Torstar needed a more “patient approach” and a “longer timeline of someone that can look after it for maybe three to five years.”
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