Power exits news business

Article Excerpt

POWER CORP. $29.33 (Toronto symbol POW; Shares o/s: 414.4 million; Market cap: $14.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.2%; www.powercorporation.com) is a holding company with a diversified list of businesses. It holds its financial assets through its 65.6%-owned Power Financial. Power Corp. will now convert its La Presse newsgroup into a not-for-profit organization. Since December 2017, the daily La Presse (repositioned as La Presse +) has just been available electronically on tablets such as the iPad. The newspaper stopped producing a print version in 2017. In converting the media business to a not-for-profit, Power Corp. removes this money-losing unit from its holding company structure. At the same time, the move lets La Presse attract new investors and tap support from the federal government. Ottawa has said it is willing to advance funds to Canadian media. Still, as part of the transition, Power will provide La Presse with a $50 million grant. Power Corp. is a buy. buy…