The trustee responsible for the Métro Média file received on Tuesday a purchase offer for the newspaper chain which declared bankruptcy on September 28.
This is what reveals the preliminary report of trustee Stéphane De Broux, of KPMG, responsible for administering the bankruptcy of the newspaper Metro and other publications that closed, leaving 70 people unemployed, half of whom worked in the newsroom.
On October 3, the trustee 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 newspaper Metro.
In his report, trustee Stéphane De Broux indicates that this offer must be submitted to creditors and their representatives and that it “must be studied by the committee of inspectors appointed at the first meeting of creditors”. The meeting took place on Wednesday.
It was not possible on Thursday to know the nature of this offer or to know from whom it came. “We learned of the existence of this offer at the same time as everyone else,” Wednesday at the meeting of creditors, said Camila Rodriguez-Cea, spokesperson for the CSN and the National Communications Federation, which represents journalists and other newspaper employees Metro.
The offer was not detailed during the creditors’ meeting: five representatives of the creditors (including one from the union) were designated and the offer will be presented to them soon, the union indicated.
Reviewable transactions
The report indicates that the trustee “will, at the request of creditors,” examine the books and records of Métro Média “in order 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.
Mr. De Broux did not call back The Press THURSDAY. It is unclear whether any such requests were made.
There Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law gives the trustee powers of investigation and analysis over transactions prior to bankruptcy. A transaction declared “reviewable” by the trustee may be annulled by a court and the amounts involved reimbursed to the trustee for distribution to creditors.
According to the report, the City of Montreal added on October 2 a claim of $1,275,000 linked to repayable subsidies awarded in 2023. This debt was not included in the bankruptcy balance sheet made public on September 29.
The ex-employees are seeking $196,337 in salaries and benefits.
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.
Concern among laid-off employees
Furthermore, journalists who worked at the newspaper Metro are concerned that the City of Montreal’s significant claim could harm their chances of obtaining reimbursement of their own debts.
“The majority of workers’ claims in the Metro should be covered by the Employee Protection Program offered by the federal government,” indicated the National Communications Federation (FNC-CSN), which represents these employees. “As this program only covers amounts owed for six months, certain older debts will become ordinary debts which can only be claimed later in the bankruptcy process. These are anxious times for our members and we hope these monies will be paid as soon as possible. »
According to the FNC-CSN, it could be a few hundred dollars per ex-worker.
Valérie Plante’s office was reassuring. “You should know that other creditors should […] take precedence over the City, including the [ex-syndiqués de Métro Média]. Payment of this debt to the City should therefore not deprive them of the amounts to which they would be entitled,” indicated press officer Béatrice Saulnier-Yelle. “The regulation establishing the subsidy program provided for the claim of any sum paid in the event of bankruptcy or cessation of activities. The City of Montreal therefore applies this clause of its regulations. » This possibility had “been very clearly stipulated from the start”, she added.
The owner of Métro Média collected a dividend of 2.6 million in spring 2021, a few months before the company experienced financial difficulties.
With the collaboration of Philippe Teisceira-Lessard, The Press