Tuesday, November 16, 2004

Jerusalem Post sold -- you read it here first...

.... well, just a few minutes after Haaretz!

22:58
Tel Aviv-based media firm Mirkaei Tikshoret to purchase Jerusalem Post from Hollinger, Inc. for reported $13.2 million

FULLER REPORT here -- including detail that the Asper CanWest is taking 50% of the JP. CanWest are publishers of the Canadian 'National Post', which is possibly the most pro-Israel national paper in the western world ....

UPDATE (From Miriam): It's interesting to recall that just a few years ago, Hollinger was rejecting bids of $80m. for the Post because they thought it was worth more. The fact that they would settle for a mere $13m. just goes to show how incredibly, incredibly greedy David Radler and Conrad Black really were (not to mention how much financial trouble they are in at the moment and how much they must have run down the paper's value). It will be interesting to see how the new owners will get along with the paper's new editor, who, you will recall, got a guarantee of editorial independence from Hollinger before he agreed to take the job.

UPDATE II (From Miriam): My sources inform me that Hollinger owed CanWest a lot of money because of a previous deal between them that went wrong, something to do with the National Post. The reason they are willing to accept such a low sum for the Jerusalem Post is because CanWest is receiving the Post in lieu of payment. And there you have it!

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