28/01/2008: The Day Bay Street Abandoned Leonard Asper; ROB Magazine Traces
CanWest's Path to Creditor Protection

Interview opportunities from the November Report on Business magazine

TORONTO , Oct. 28 /CNW/ - On October 6 , CanWest Global Communications Corp. - Canada's largest media company, owner of the Global Television network, 13 daily newspapers and more than 20 cable channels - filed for protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. It was the culmination of a long struggle with an almost $4 billion debt load. In the November issue of Report on Business magazine, available Friday, October 30 , Grant Robertson traces the difficult path to this point, including opportunities missed, and pinpoints the day Bay Street abandoned CanWest: January 28, 2008 .

On that day, CanWest confirmed it was not selling its stake in Australia's Ten television network, which would have taken a good bite out of the corporate debt. Institutional shareholders voted with their feet. A stock that had traded at nearly $10 before cancellation of the sale shed an average of 50 cents a month over the next year. On Bay Street they spoke of "CanWest fatigue" - too much debt for too long and too many missed chances to dig itself out. Ultimately, bondholders, who were owed millions in outstanding interest payments, took control away from the Aspers, forced the sale of Ten and put the company in creditor protection.

Also in this issue:

Paradise postponed - It used to be so easy. Build a private winery, add a designer golf course, and the retirees would come. For British Columbia's real estate developers, it was a real-life game of SimCity. And if it seemed too good to be true, well, it was. Jim Sutherland looks at why Utopia is now in creditor protection.

Never mind the death threats - Tracking down the world's worst white-collar fraudsters requires a certain amount of pluck. Fortunately for Martin Kenney - who does this stuff for a living - the job comes with one decent perk: Many of the big tax havens are in the Caribbean. Writer Nick Ryan investigates the world of chasing fraud artists and how to get them where it hurts - their pocketbooks!

Dear Detroit - Here are a few suggestions on how to get back in the game: Ditch the dealers, crowd-source the design, and sell electric vehicles with pay-as-you-go battery plans. Writer Christopher Shulgan reveals why Detroit may want to get billionaire Roger Penske back on the phone.

Report on Business magazine is Canada's most-read business publication. Published on the last Friday of every month in The Globe and Mail, Report on Business magazine offers readers insightful, award-winning coverage of Canadian and global business and economics and is available with copies of The Globe and Mail and online at www.reportonbusiness.com/magazine. The Globe and Mail is a division of CTVglobemedia, a dynamic multimedia company that also owns CTV, Canada's leading private broadcaster.

For further information: or to arrange an interview, please contact: Jennifer Hills, [email protected], [phone]; Sheryl So, [email protected], [phone]