Yesterday there was a report in the Financial Post online news in Canada stating that UBS analyst Jeffrey Fran said in a note to his clients that Quebecor Inc needs a corporate overhaul. This is despite the fact that shares in Quebecor Inc. are up 48% in the past six months and also that Quebecor World, the commercial printing business has seen a healthy appreciation in its underlying stock. One way that Fran thought this overhaul could be achieved was through the sale of the Quebecor World division.

The article went on to say that last spring Quebecor’s chief executive Perre-Karl Peledeau, who previously had been CEO of Quebecor World, acknowledged that the conglomerate’s board of directors had discussed the possibility of selling its controlling stake in Quebecor World, given weaknesses in the printing industry and the company’s continually poor results.

From further comments in the article the indication given was that such a sale may not be actively considered at present, but given ongoing prospects for Quebecor’s media and print holdings, the better bet for the future is in the media area.