|
overview
holdings
landmarks
|
overview
This profile considers Montreal-based Quebecor.
It covers -
introduction
Quebecor Inc is controlled by the Péladeau family.
It comprises Quebecor Media (jointly controlled by Quebecor
and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec)
and Quebecor World.
Its operations encompass broadcast, magazine, book, newspaper
publishing, printing and other interests in Canada and
15 other countries, employing over 58,000 people at 160
plants and dwarfing rival Transcontinental.
Its Quebecor World arm is world's second largest commercial
printer.
Quebecor Media includes 8 metropolitan dailies, 7 local
dailies, 171 weeklies, magazines, other types of publications
and book imprints. It accounts for around 22% of overall
newspaper circulation in Canada. Up to 2001 Quebecor owned
the French-language television network TQS, which covers
97.5% of the Québec broadcasting region, and has
substantial cable tv and video rental operations.
The Quebecor corporate site is here.
Our
chronology of the group is here.
the group
Quebecor Media, the media arm, embraces
Sun
Media (the second-largest newspaper group in Canada,
with 8 metropolitan dailies and over 180 community newspapers
across Canada and in Florida)
news, arts and entertainment magazines
12 publishing houses
Vidéotron, the largest cable TV provider in Quebec
(and one of the largest ISPs in Canada)
TVA - commercial television network in Quebec
Netgraphe - operator of the CANOE group of web sites
Archambault - largest music chain in eastern Canada
with 12 megastores and music/video distribution operations
the SuperClub Vidéotron video rentals/sales chain,
with around 170 locations
Quebecor
World, the printing arm (discussed below), employs in
43,000 people in 16 countries in North America, Europe,
Latin America and Asia.
A more detailed indication of holdings is here.
evolution
Quebecor was founded by Pierre Péladeau (1925-1997).
Péladeau studied philosophy at Université
de Montréal and law at McGill University before
publishing neighbourhood weeklies specializing in entertainment
news - such as Le Journal de Rosemont and Nouvelles
et potins - expanding into French-language version
of US tabloids and printing. In 1964 he founded the daily
Le Journal de Montréal, ultimately the
second largest circulation paper in Canada, and established
Quebecor during the following year. Expansion was driven
by his printing operations and by upgrading of assets
(with for example sale of most of the neighbourhood titles
in 1961).
During the 1970s and 1980s Quebecor expanded its book
and magazine publishing, printing (including BCE's
directories arm) and newspaper publishing interests (including
the shortlived Philadelphia Journal). In 1987
it acquired control of forest products group Donohue Inc,
initially in partnership with Robert Maxwell.
In the 1990s Quebecor significantly expanded its printing
operations through acquisitions in the Americas and Europe,
bought the TQS television network and in 1999 acquired
Sun Media Corporation, which had been spun off by Rogers
Communications in 1996. In 2000 it bought Groupe Vidéotron
for C$5.4 billion, selling the TQS television network
to Cogeco in 2001 and buying
Hachette Filipacchi Media's
printing assets in Europe during the following year.
In June 2007 Quebecor announced that it would pay C$517
million for Osprey Media Income Fund, encompassing 54
daily and weekly newspapers (such as the Peterborough
Examiner and Kingston Whig-Standard)
in Canada. Osprey was a C$220m MBO by Hollinger
executives, led by Michael Sifton, in 2001. Osprey had
acquired 30 titles in Southern Ontario (including 21 weekly
newspapers) from CanWest for C$193m
in 2003.
In January 2008 Quebecor World, at that time the second-largest
commercial printer in the world, filed for bankruptcy
protection after its banks failed to approve a C$400 million
rescue plan proposed by controlling shareholder Quebecor
and a fund managed by Brookfield Asset Management. Quebecor
asked the court to remove its name from that of Quebecor
World.
the Toronto Sun
The Sun Media group - centred on the Toronto daily tabloid
Sun - was Canada's largest publisher of English-language
tabloid newspapers.
It traced its origins to the Toronto Sun, launched
in 1971 following the closure of the Toronto Telegram.
In 1973 the Sun launched the Sunday Sun. 1978
saw the amalgamation of Toronto Sun Holdings and Toronto
Sun Publishing, followed by creation of Edmonton Sun Publishing
as a partnership to publish the tabloid Edmonton Sun
(which became wholly-owned in 1981) and acquisition of
the Calgary Albertan in 1980 for C$1.3 million.
The Albertan was subsequently relaunched as the
Calgary Sun.
In 1982 magazine and broadcast conglomerate Maclean-Hunter
acquired around 50% of Toronto Sun Publishing for C$55
million. Maclean later increased that stake, with Sun
Publishing expanding into the US with its acquisition
in 1983 of the Houston Post for US$100 million.
In 1987 Sun Publishing acquired Maclean's weekly Financial
Post and associated titles for C$46 million, with
the Financial Post being relaunched as a daily.
The Houston Post was sold to MediaNews
for US$150 million shortly therafter. In 1988 Sun acquired
the Ottawa Herald (relaunched as the daily Ottawa
Sun).
By 1994 - when Sun's parent Maclean Hunter was acquired
by Rogers - the five major Sun
newspapers had daily sales of over 500,000 copies. Rogers
sold its stake in Sun publishing to an MBO in 1996, with
the new group becoming Sun Media. During 1998 Sun Media
traded the Financial Post to Southam for Southam's
Hamilton, Kitchener, Guelph and Cambridge newspapers.
It bought the Hamilton Spectator, Kitchener-Waterloo
Record, Guelph Daily Mercury and Cambridge
Reporter from Hollinger.
Competitor TorStar attempted
a hostile takeover in 1998, with the group instead falling
to Quebecor for C$983 million.
Quebecor World
As of early 2008, when it sought protection under and
Chapter 11 in the US, Quebecor World claimed global sales
of C$6 billion.
It had expanded from newspaper, book and phone directory
printing in Canada (including acquisition of BCE's
directories arm) into major print interests in the US
and Europe. It also expanded into paper production through
acquisition of f forest products group Donohue Inc (which
had absorbed newsprint companies controlled by the New
York Times and Northcliffe),
initially in partnership with Robert Maxwell.
Donahue was sold to Abitibi-Consolidated in 2000, which
later absorbed the Tribune's
QUNO.
In the 1990s Quebecor significantly expanded its printing
operations through acquisitions in Europe and the Americas,
including Ringier America from Ringier
and US$1.4 billion on World Color Press Inc in the US.
In 2001 it acquired Hachette
Filipacchi Media's printing assets in Europe, including
printing and bindery facilities in France and Hachette's
50% ownership of Helio Charleroi in Belgium. Anticipated
cost savings proved elusive.
A reported C$5 billion offer buyout with support from
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts was rebuffed in 2002. In that
year Quebecor World claimed to be world's largest commercial
printer but a share offering was hastily repriced after
strongly negative responses by institutional investors
to ongoing departures of senior executive. The group faced
problems with ongoing losses in Europe (associated with
poor industrial relations) and the US and high borrowings,
reflected in S&P cutting Quebecor World's credit rating
company to just above junk status in 2003 and suspension
of the annual dividend in 2006 to shore up its troubled
balance sheet.
In 2007 a potential merger with Dutch competitor RSDB
NV (Roto Smeets) did not eventuate, with reported rejection
by Quebecor directors because major writedown of goodwill
would have put Quebecor World in violation of its debt
covenants. Sale of a majority stake in the European operations
to Robo Smeets for US$341 million was rejected by the
latter's directors. In early 2008 Quebecor and Brookfield
Asset Management's Tricap Partners offered a lifeline
to Quebecor World in the form of a proposed C$400 million
financing package but its shares fell a further 42% (for
a market capitalisation of C$25 million) on fears that
banks might not grant necessary financial breathing room.
Quebecor World then sought court protection from its creditors.
In May of the same year Quebecor World announced a new
deal to sell its European operations (17 printing and
related plants with 3,500 employees in Austria, Belgium,
Finland, France, Spain and Sweden) to Dutch investment
group Hombergh/De Pundert for about €133 million
(comprising €46.5 million cash, €21.5 million
in the form of a 5 year note and the remaining €65
million as debt to be assumed by the purchaser). At Quebecor
World's peak share price of C$46.09 in 2002 the company
was worth over C$6.3 billion. By May 2008 that had slumped
to C$44 million.
studies
There is no major English-language study of Péladeau
or Quebecor. Pierre Péladeau is profiled in Pierre
Péladeau, cet inconnu (Editions Trait d'Union
2003), a memoir by associate Bernard Bujold
A profile is provided in Gordon Pitts' Kings of Convergence
(Toronto: Doubleday 2002).
next page (holdings)
|
|
