TC Media Becomes Sole Owner of Metro Montréal Newspaper

MONTREAL, June 18, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Transcontinental Inc., through its subsidiary TC Media, is very proud to announce that it has become the sole owner of Metro Montréal and the paper's interactive platforms. The Metro Montréal newspaper, the most widely read weekday paper on the Island of Montreal, was formerly owned by a group composed of Metro International, Transcontinental Inc. and Gesca. It is a natural development for Transcontinental Inc. to become the sole owner of a daily paper in Québec, especially the well-known publication Metro Montréal, since it was the driving force behind its launch in 2001.

Following this transaction, Metro Montréal will play an active role as a supplier of local, national and international content on the various TC Transcontinental platforms, including the new morning show Ça commence bien! produced by TC Media, which will air on V this fall.

François Olivier, interim president of TC Media and President and CEO of TC Transcontinental, said that "this acquisition is excellent news for TC Media and our clients, advertisers and readers, since it will enable us to enrich the content we provide. It will also increase the advertising opportunities for Metro Montréal, primarily through links with other TC Media products, which should create new and interesting possibilities for our advertisers."

"Metro Montréal is proud to belong entirely to TC Media and thus be able to play a pivotal role in the development of TV productions, taking the paper to new heights," said Daniel Barbeau, publisher of Metro Montréal. "We will keep our business relations with our counterparts in Toronto and Halifax (which is co-owned by TC Transcontinental), and the other Metro papers in Canada, thereby offering improved advertising opportunities to national advertisers."

Metro Montréal will maintain close ties with Metro International, continuing to benefit from its highly successful and unusual contests such as the "Race for Space" and events like the "Global Guest Editors," with the most recent editor being Karl Lagerfeld.

Metro Montréal continues to evolve and diversify through projects such as the addition of iPhone and Android apps, the creation of custom content, the launch of "Carrières gagnantes," and much more. Its growth in recent years, particularly since it is being distributed outside the subway system, points to a promising future for Metro Montréal, whose most recent readership numbers demonstrate its leading position in its community.

The existing management team, which has contributed greatly to the newspaper's success, will remain with the paper.

About Metro Montréal
Metro Montréal, the most widely read daily paper on the Island of Montreal, reaches more than 245,000 readers a week, Monday to Friday. With its staff of 17 local journalists and its partnership with a worldwide network of more than 500 journalists, Metro excels at offering quality content that is effectively presented and meets the needs of an educated and demanding readership, largely composed of young city dwellers. Metro has grown ever since it was introduced in 2001 and is read by one quarter of all Montrealers every week. It has become a key source in the world of information. Metro Montréal is the only daily paper in North America that is printed on FSC-certified paper.

Now wholly owned by Transcontinental Inc, through its subsidiary TC Media, Metro is a local edition of Metro International, which reaches more than 25 million people in 25 countries every day.

About TC Media
One of Canada's leading providers of media and interactive marketing solutions, TC Media offers a comprehensive line of products and services and an integrated approach to activating customers' marketing. TC Media is one of Canada's largest media groups, reaching 22 million consumers through its multiplatform offering. The group, which has about 3,800 employees, owns a number of major consumer and business media brands that are leveraged across multiple platforms. TC Media is also the leading provider of local and regional information in Quebec and the Atlantic provinces through its extensive network of community papers and online portals. It is owner of the Metro weekday daily in Montreal and co-owner of Metro Halifax. It is also the leading door-to-door distributor of advertising material in Canada, with Publisac in Quebec and Targeo in the rest of Canada. TC Media is a leader in the digital industry in Canada in media properties and online advertising representation. With its extensive network of more than 3,500 websites, TC Media reaches 18.7 million unique visitors per month in Canada. The group offers interactive marketing solutions that harmonize strategy, content and multichannel distribution systems to build lasting relationships between brands and consumers. TC Media also employs its expertise and proprietary software to anticipate and meet consumer needs by means of the new interactive means of communication: mobile, data analytics, email marketing, e-flyers and custom content and communications. TC Media is also active in book publishing and distribution and is the largest publisher of French-language educational resources in Canada.

TC Media is a brand of Transcontinental Inc. (TSX: TCL.A, TCL.B, TCL.PR.D), which has about 10,000 employees in Canada and the United States, and reported revenues of C$2.0 billion in 2011. For more information about the corporation, please visit www.tc.tc.

For more information or interview requests:

Media
Nancy Bouffard
Director of External and  Internal Communications
TC Transcontinental
Telephone : [phone]
[email protected] 

Financial Community 
Jennifer F. McCaughey
Senior Director, Investor Relations and
Financial Communications
TC Transcontinental
Telephone: [phone]
[email protected]