Both companies issued press releases disclosing the change, with Torstar Corp. noting that the added backdrop of regulatory and financial uncertainty contributed to the talks ending.
They had said the proposed deal would help them scale up in order to respond to the"existential threat" facing the media industry. The deal would have also seen Postmedia convert some of its outstanding debt to equity. The company in its last full fiscal year paid $31 million in interest expenses while carrying about $275 million in debt.
Adding Amazon into the equation means the three US digital conglomerates accounted for close to 90 per cent of the online advertising market, the project also found.