Torstar Corporation enters into agreement with CAAT

TORONTO, June 22, 2018 /CNW/ - Torstar Corporation announced today it has entered into an agreement with the Sponsors Committee and Board of Trustees of the Colleges of Applied Arts & Technology Pension Plan (the "CAAT Plan") to merge Torstar's eight registered defined benefit pension plans (the "Torstar Plans") with the CAAT Plan effective October 1^st, 2018, with Torstar and certain of its subsidiaries becoming participating employers under the CAAT Plan. The agreement contains customary representations and warranties and is subject to customary closing conditions and approvals, including consent by the Torstar Plan members and approval of the Superintendent of Financial Services (Ontario).

The CAAT Plan is a jointly sponsored defined benefit pension plan, with 42 participating employers, more than 46,000 members, and assets valued at approximately $11 billion as at January 1, 2018. 

If approved by members, Torstar's registered defined benefit pension plan members will begin accruing benefits under the new DBplus provisions of the CAAT Plan beginning October 1^st, 2018.  Following approval by the Superintendent of Financial Services (Ontario), the liabilities for all past benefits under the Torstar Plans will be transferred to the CAAT Plan together with the assets of the Torstar Plans, and the CAAT Plan will assume responsibility for all pension benefit payments to members of the Torstar Plans going forward. No additional cash funding related to the transferred liabilities is expected to be required from Torstar in connection with the merger. Regulatory approval is not expected to occur prior to the second half of 2019.

Lorenzo DeMarchi, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of Torstar, said: "We look forward to working with the various constituents to obtain approval for this proposed merger. We believe this will be a positive development for our registered defined benefit pension plan members and for Torstar overall."

ABOUT TORSTAR CORPORATION
Torstar Corporation is a broadly based media company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TS.B). Its businesses include the Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper, six regional daily newspapers in Ontario including The Hamilton Spectator; English-language Metro newspapers in several Canadian cities; more than 80 weekly community newspapers in Ontario; flyer distribution services; and digital properties including thestar.com, wheels.ca, save.ca, toronto.com, a number of regional online sites and eyeReturn Marketing. Torstar also holds a majority interest in VerticalScope, a North American vertically-focused digital media company.

Torstar's news releases are available on the Internet at www.torstar.com

Forward-looking statements 

Certain statements in this press release and in Torstar's oral and written public communications may constitute forward-looking statements that reflect management's expectations as of the date of this press release. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "forecast", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "would", "could", "if", "may" and similar expressions.

This press release contains, among others, forward-looking statements about the proposed merger of the Torstar Plans with the CAAT Plan, including, among others, forward-looking statements about management's expectations regarding the expected timing and benefits of the transaction, obtaining member and regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other closing conditions. All such statements are made pursuant to the "safe harbour" provisions of applicable Canadian securities legislation. These statements reflect current expectations of management regarding future events and performance, and speak only as of the date of this press release. In addition, forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes.

By their very nature, forward-looking statements require management to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. There is a significant risk that predictions, forecasts, conclusions or projections will not prove to be accurate, that management's assumptions may not be accurate and that actual results, performance or achievements may differ significantly from such predictions, forecasts, conclusions or projections expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements in this press release as a number of factors could cause actual future results, conditions, actions or events to differ materially from the targets, outlooks, expectations, goals, estimates or intentions expressed in the forward-looking statements.

These factors include, but are not limited to: the ultimate outcome of the transaction, including the risk that the transaction may not close, the ability to obtain member consents and regulatory approvals on a timely basis and general economic conditions in the principal markets in which Torstar operates.  We caution that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all possible factors, as other factors could adversely affect our results.

In addition, a number of assumptions, including those assumptions specifically identified throughout this press release, were applied in making the forward-looking statements set forth in this press release. Some of the key assumptions include, without limitation, expected benefits from the transaction, the stability and performance of the CAAT Plan, and assumptions regarding the performance of the North American and global economies. There is a risk that some or all of these assumptions may prove to be incorrect.

When relying on our forward-looking statements to make decisions with respect to Torstar and its securities, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Torstar does not intend, and disclaims any obligation, to update any forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, or whether as a result of new information or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

For more information, please see the discussion of risks affecting Torstar and its businesses in Torstar's Management's Discussion & Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2017 and the three months ended March 31, 2018, each of which has been filed on www.sedar.com and is available on Torstar's corporate website www.torstar.com. 

SOURCE Torstar Corporation