Quebecor World seeks and gets bankruptcy protection

The long and franky tragic saga of Quebecor World (tragic for the employees, certainly) has wound its way into bankruptcy protection, which will give the giant printing company some time to satisfy the demands of the bankers.

According to a story in The Canadian Press and other sources:

"It is imperative to grant the relief sought," Quebec Superior Court Justice Robert Mongeon said Monday.

In approving a motion to place the company under Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) protection for 30 days until Feb. 20, he also authorized a US$1-billion financial lifeline that will prevent the Montreal-based company from running out of money by Thursday as it restructures under court protection.

Ernst & Young Inc. was named monitor.

Meanwhile, the parent company Quebecor Inc. has told its printing subsidiary to expunge the name Quebecor from its signage. Enough damage has been done to the Quebecor brand, apparently, and particularly to the resurgent Quebecor Media arm.

The likely outcome of all this will be painful, including a major sale of assets and divisions to rivals QW previously dominated, the loss of thousands of jobs and the shrinking back of the company to a fairly ordinary commercial printer, without the Quebecor name.

For background on this story, see earlier posts.