Postmedia has announced the closure of its deal to acquire Sun Media’s English-language newspapers, specialty publications and digital properties from Quebecor Media.

First announced last September, the acquisition includes brands like the Toronto Sun, Ottawa Sun, Winnipeg Sun, Calgary Sun and Edmonton Sun as well as the London Free Press and 24 Hours dailies in Toronto and Vancouver. The deal also includes digital properties such as the Canoe portal outside of Quebec.

David Jowett, president of media at V7 International, says deals like this one are inevitable, especially in the print space, as ad dollars accelerate the move towards digital. He says Postmedia’s increased scale will likely be accompanied by a jump in ad prices, which will be resisted by agencies, but says overall the ability to offer more scale to clients will be a positive.

“Overall, this deal will mean the possibility of more integrated programs across Postmedia and Sun Media’s properties, which is a positive for clients,” he says. “It gives us a more streamlined way of accessing content across properties at scale.”

Last week, Postmedia announced a net loss of $58.2 million for its fiscal second quarter, due in part to foreign exchange currency losses of $24.1 million. It also posted $17 million drop in revenue over last year’s Q2, which it attributed primarily to a decline in print advertising.

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