Michael Sprung TorstarCorp (B) TS.B-T DON'T BUY Dec 21, 2016

Used to own this, but got scared when technology and mistakes got in the way. The technology they invested in has absolutely killed them. They’ve had some of their top executives leaving. One good thing is that they don’t have any debt.

They had tremendous problems. He sold at a lost because he was afraid of what would happen. Paper media has been decimated. They sold off assets and cut their dividend. They have no debt and still pay a dividend. He still has to be very wary of this arena, but does view it as a speculative play.

Print media continues to struggle. This company had a digital division that was attempting to turn things around, but hasn’t. They are expected to lose $.22 on earnings this year, and $.22 next year. It is still facing a struggle with regards to the stock price. He would look elsewhere.

He does not think highly of the management. They squandered a lot of money on projects that didn’t work out. They are in a tough sector.

A very tough business. He wouldn't want to own anything in the newspaper business. There are very few newspapers that are going to survive. There’re better places to put your money. 7.7% dividend yield.

Had owned this at one time. Sold his holdings when he didn't like what was going on in the area. The media area has really, really changed, and this company has gotten killed. They had a lot of money in the bank and paid a nice dividend, and had no debt. Started selling off assets. Just reported a net loss of almost $7 million. They keep on losing money and ad revenues keep on going down. They are trying to transition to the new media, and it is not going well. Still has no debt. Paying a highly diminished dividend. He is very leery on this field.

Prem Watsa owns about 40.1% of the common shares. Do you buy this for capital appreciation, the dividend, or perhaps for the breakup value later on? That is definitely a good signal. It could be a good contrarian pick now. They have no debt, and the dividend is over 6%. The high dividend is a danger signal. This is risky.

This is not a good contrarian play. Print media continues to struggle. Postmedia and the Globe and Mail are also facing the same problems. Torstar is expected to lose money in 2018 and 2019. He thinks other stocks will give a better risk-adjusted return.