Canwest bankruptcy protection extended

The much-beleaguered Canwest announced that the Ontario Superior Court
of Justice has extended the company’s creditor protection bankruptcy
until June 15 – just days before the already-extended March 31
deadline, The Canadian Press reports.

Canwest filed for bankruptcy protection last fall
under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. The company, which has
been hit hard by a drop in advertising, had amassed $4-billion in debt.

Canwest
owns a handful of big city dailies, including the National Post and
Montreal’s Gazette, as well as the Global TV network and other specialty
channels. (Update: Only Canwest Global Communications Corp is affected by the new deadline, not Canwest LP, which runs the newspapers.)

The Canadian Press reports that:

“The newspaper
division, which is under its own restructuring deadlines, has a
deadline of April 14…The company has put its newspaper division up for
sale and has already received offers for all or some of its assets.”