Osprey Media Income Fund still in play and the price keeps going up

The sale of newspaper and magazine company Osprey Media Income Fund looked like a slam dunk for Quebecor Media, leaving a bruised Torstar group sulking in the corner. Torstar and Quebecor have been squabbling about who did what to whom and about whether or not they had a deal to split up the Osprey properties, which include well-known dailies like the St. Catharines Standard and the Kingston Whig-Standard.

Now, through its subsidiary, Black Press of Vancouver, Torstar has topped Quebecor's bid by $1 a unit or $404.5 million compared to Quebecor's offer of $355.5 million. (Torstar owns 19.4% of Black Press.

A story in the Toronto Star says Quebecor has until July 5 to better that offer. All of which is good news for the unitholders of the Osprey Trust, but only goes so far. When it was first created the Osprey units went for $10. Even the richer Black Press offer only brings this to $8.25.

Quebecor is now crying foul, saying that Osprey had a "standstill agreement" that prevented it from seeking other buyers. Osprey says that's nonsense.

Whatever happens, a whole stable of mid-sized newspapers and magazines (including the former Town Media Group (Hamilton magazine etc.)) will be subsumed inside one or the other of Canada's print media giants.