November 23, 2007 - MONTREAL - Transcontinental Media, the biggest owner of newspapers in Atlantic Canada, says it has acquired The Springhill-Parrsboro Record, a weekly based in Nova Scotia.
Financial terms of the transaction, announced Friday, were not revealed.
The 78-year paper, owned by Advocate Media Inc., has more than 1,600 customers in northern Nova Scotia.
The acquisition brings Transcontinental Media's newspaper total to 170 community publications across Canada.
The company also owns the St. Johns Telegram, Truro News and Charlottetown Guardian dailies in Atlantic Canada as well as other papers in Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan.
"This acquisition will be beneficial for Springhill merchants and businesses as it gives them a broader reach into the Amherst and Truro markets, where Transcontinental already owns two dailies," said Marc-Noel Ouellette, the Montreal company's senior vice-president for newspapers.
"The community-based editorial content and loyal readership of The Springhill-Parrsboro Record make it a great addition to our portfolio of newspapers."
Transcontinental Media is the fourth-largest newspaper publisher in Canada, with more than 3,000 employees and annual revenues of $580 million in 2006. The company also publishes consumer magazines such as The Hockey News, TV Guide and Westernliving and French-language publications and owns digital businesses and door-to-door advertising distribution companies.
The media company is a subsidiary of Transcontinental Inc., one of Canada's biggest commercial printers, which has more than 14,500 employees in Canada, the United States and Mexico. The parent company reported revenues of C$2.3 billion and profits of $137.9 million last year.