TVA Group's proposed acquisition of Transcontinental's consumer magazine portfolio was recently cleared by the Competition Bureau. Both TVA and Transcontinental are major Canadian communications companies with a strong sector in magazine publishing. Under the acquisition, TVA will become the sole owner of 11 magazine brands, which include well-known titles such as Elle Canada, Canadian Living and The Hockey News.

The Bureau concluded that the transaction is unlikely to result in a substantial lessening or prevention of competition, based on the following considerations:

  • the presence of competitors in the same magazine genres
  • advertisers' abilities to reach the same demographics through other magazines and media
  • the general decline in readership of magazines due in part to the rise of the Internet as an alternative reading source

Based on these findings, the Competition Bureau issued a No Action Letter, indicating that it will not challenge the proposed transaction at this time.

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