The trustee of Métro Média received on Tuesday a purchase offer for the newspaper chain which declared bankruptcy on September 28.
This is what reveals the preliminary report of the trustee Steve De Broux, of KPMG, responsible for administering the bankruptcy of the Métro newspaper and other publications which closed, leaving 70 people unemployed, half of whom worked in the newsroom .
On October 3, trustee De Broux launched a call for tenders aimed at finding a buyer for the assets of Métro Média “in a context of operational continuity”. On October 17, he received an offer from a potential buyer whose identity has not been revealed.
It does not specify whether the offer targets all Métro Média titles, or only the Métro de Montréal newspaper.
In his report, trustee De Broux indicates that this offer will be submitted to the creditors and their representatives and that it “must be studied by the committee of inspectors appointed at the first meeting of creditors. »
Mr. De Broux could not be reached at the time of putting this article online.
The report states that the trustee “will, at the request of creditors,” conduct an examination of Métro Média’s books and records “to determine whether there are reviewable transactions and/or preferential payments.”
He indicates having recovered “part” of the company’s documents, books and accounting records.
The Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act gives the trustee powers to investigate and analyze transactions prior to bankruptcy. A transaction declared “reviewable” by the trustee may be canceled and the amounts involved reimbursed to creditors.
According to the report, the City of Montreal added on October 2 a claim of $1,275,000 related to repayable grants awarded in 2023. This debt was not included in the bankruptcy balance sheet made public on September 29.
Other major creditors include the Quebec state, with claims from the Ministry of Culture and Communications ($554,562) and the Ministry of Revenue ($11,825). Desjardins is claiming $59,411 and the National Public Relations Firm, $33,025.
The laid-off employees are also seeking $196,337 in unpaid wages and benefits.
Trustee De Broux’s report does not identify the creditors who requested an examination of Métro Média’s books to determine whether preferential payments or reviewable transactions were made. But it’s not the union, Camila Rodriguez-Cea, spokesperson for the CSN and the National Communications Federation, to which the journalists’ union at the Métro newspaper is affiliated, told La Presse.
The owner of Métro Média collected a dividend of 2.6 million in spring 2021, a few months before the company experienced financial difficulties.