CanWest sells off stake in Metro freebies in Vancouver, Ottawa

CanWest Global Communications Corp. is selling off its stake in Metro's Vancouver and Ottawa freebies.

The Winnipeg-based media company is choosing instead to focus on its paid newspapers in those cities and its own freebie, Rush Hour, which launched in Ottawa recently.
Torstar Corp. and Metro International SA are acquiring CanWest's one-third stake.
The two companies are already equal partners on three other Metro newspapers in Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto. The purchase will give each a half stake in the Vancouver and Ottawa publications.

Metro International is based in Sweden and publishes the free newspapers in more than 100 cities by partnering with publishers around the world. The company arrived in Canada in 2000, starting in Toronto, and has been battling Quebecor Inc.'s free newspaper brand 24 Hours fiercely in several of the country's biggest cities.

"With a consistent ownership structure now in place in all five English Metro markets, the Metro newspapers will be managed with a single-minded focus on the development and growth of the Metro brand across English Canada," says Jagoda Pike, president Star Media Group and chair of the board of directors of the English Canada Metro newspapers.