It was never exactly a marriage of equals..But now the proposed union between the country’s largest — and most subsidized — media giants has been called off..Postmedia confirmed Monday that discussions with Toronto Star publisher Nordstar Capital regarding a potential business combination “have ceased.”.On June 27, days after Facebook owner Meta and Google announced plans to eliminate Canadian news content from their sites, the companies announced they had entered into non-binding discussions to merge..“The parties were unable to come to agreement on the terms of the merger," said Postmedia in a statement..No reasons were given for the move and it wasn’t clear who walked away from the altar..But Postmedia said the mainstream media industry is still in crisis. Nordstar, being privately owned, is under no obligation to disclose any reasons, either..“The need for creative solutions and foundational transformation in our industry remains. Our continued focus is on protecting and ensuring Canadians’ access to reliable information,” said CEO Andrew MacLeod. .“By levelling the playing field with the tech giants and creating a healthy ecosystem, we can ensure that the media industry and journalism remain vibrant, diverse, and resilient in Canada.”.Both companies are among the most subsidized media outlets in Canada..PostMedia received about $8-$10 million a year since 2019 from the Liberal’s $600 million bailout fund — not including pandemic wage subsidies — while the Star reaped about $6.8 million on payroll rebates amounting to $13,750 per employee in 2020, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.PostMedia publishes papers in all major cities across Canada, including the Calgary Herald and Vancouver Sun and National Post and dozens of smaller weeklies and owns the Flyer Force.Under proposed terms, the Toronto Star would have maintained its editorial independence while parent company Nordstar would have retained a 65% interest in Toronto Star Inc.It came hours after the Liberal government passed Bill C-18 to force tech giants Meta and Google to pay for content — something they’ve adamantly refused to do. The core rationale for a merger is a defensive strategy to create a new entity with reduced debt and national digital scale to compete with the global technology giants, the companies said.
