Toronto Star owner Nordstar and Postmedia terminate merger talks

• Nordstar, in June, confirmed that non-binding discussions with Postmedia were taking place
• The parties were unable to come to agreement on the terms of the merger
• Nordstar in 2020 acquired Torstar Corp, the owner of the Toronto Star and other Canadian media outlets

Nordstar Capital and Postmedia Network Canada Corp have terminated their discussions about a potential merger of the Metroland newspapers and certain operational Toronto Star assets with Postmedia.

Nordstar, in June, confirmed that these non-binding discussions with Postmedia were taking place.

The parties were unable to come to agreement on the terms of the merger and the added backdrop of regulatory and financial uncertainty led them to make the decision to end their negotiations, according to a statement.

“These are challenging times for media companies, but we intend to keep working hard to give Canadians the news they need to stay informed, which is essential to our communities and to the functioning of our democracy,” said Jordan Bitove, owner of Nordstar and publisher of the Toronto Star. “Torstar remains focused on addressing the existential threats to journalism in Canada, which have been amplified in recent weeks with the announcements by Meta and Google that they intend to block access to Canadian news.”

Last week, Torstar halted advertising on Facebook and Instagram following Meta’s move to block content on its platforms.

Nordstar, a Toronto-based private equity firm, in 2020 acquired Torstar Corp, the owner of the Toronto Star and other Canadian media outlets. The purchase price was about C$60 million.