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October 12, 2005
Quebecor Media Acquires the Sogides Group

Montreal, October 12, 2005 - Quebecor Media Inc. is pleased to announce that an agreement has been reached to acquire Sogides ltée, the largest publishing and distribution group in Quebec. The company includes Éditions de l'Homme, Le Jour, Utilis, Les Presses Libres and Groupe Ville-Marie Littérature (L'Hexagone, VLB éditeur, Typo), as well as a distribution subsidiary, Les Messageries A.D.P., which distributes books for over 110 publishers from Québec and abroad.

This acquisition will enable Quebecor Media to offer a more complete range of books from Québec while helping Québec authors gain greater influence in Europe, thanks to the extensive network that Sogides has developed since it was established in 1967. Sogides will continue to be managed by its founder, Pierre Lespérance, who will share his extensive experience in the book industry with Quebecor Media.

The closing of the transaction is subject to certain conditions, including the approval of competition regulatory authorities, and is scheduled for late October.

The President and Chief Executive Officer of Quebecor Inc., Pierre Karl Péladeau, emphasized the positive impact this will have on the Quebec publishing industry: "Quebecor's interests are centred on the health and vitality of the book industry in Quebec, which is demonstrated by the activities of our six publishing firms, our distribution company, Québec-Livres, and 14 Archambault stores, which form one of the largest bookstore chains in Quebec. The acquisition of Sogides will help consolidate a sector that is relatively fragmented and vulnerable to market fluctuations. This is indeed excellent news for everyone in the book industry."

"The Archambault Group continues to support and encourage reading in Quebec, particularly through the prizes it awards, the Grand Prix littéraire and the Grand Prix de la relève littéraire, whose reward francophone authors from Quebec," stated Natalie Larivière, President and Chief Executive Officer of Archambault Group. "These awards complement other major initiatives that serve to promote books in Quebec such as, Montréal, World Book Capital, of which Quebecor is a major partner and sponsor, and the Grande collecte de livres of the Fondation Cultures à partager, another cause that is important to Quebecor. These are all tangible ways we demonstrate our love of books and our support of this significant part of Québec culture".

The integration of Sogides into the book division of Quebecor Media will ensure that this Québec publishing institution lives on, as Pierre Lespérance, the company's President and founder, explains: "We are especially delighted to be associated with a company that believes in the importance of books and the talent of our authors, and that will allow our publishing firms to pursue their mission: to promote Québec literature, here and elsewhere."

Sogides ltée
Sogides has a catalogue that includes some 3,900 titles and launches close to 170 new titles and many reprints every year. The company's specialities include do-it-yourself books, colour guides, cookbooks, popular psychology books, biographies, novels, agendas and calendars.

Quebecor Media Inc.
Quebecor Media, a subsidiary of Quebecor Inc. (TSX: QBR.MV.A, QBR.SV.B), is, through its subsidiary Videotron Ltée, the largest cable operator in Québec, a major Internet Service Provider and a provider of telephone services. It is present in the business telecommunications sector through Videotron Telecom Ltd. Through its subsidiary, Sun Media Corporation, Quebecor Media owns the largest national chain of tabloids and community newspapers in Canada. In television broadcasting, the company operates the largest French-language general-interest television network in Québec, TVA Group Inc., as well as a number of specialty channels, and the English-language general-interest station, Toronto 1. The company also operates Canoe Inc. and its network of English- and French-language Internet properties in Canada. Another subsidiary of Quebecor Media, Nurun Inc., is an important interactive technologies and communications agency in Canada, the United States and Europe. In addition, the company is engaged in book and magazine publishing, the production, distribution and retailing of cultural products through Archambault Group Inc., the largest chain of music stores in eastern Canada, TVA Films, and Le SuperClub Vidéotron ltée, a chain of video and video-game rental and retail stores.

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Source:

Luc Lavoie
Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs
Quebecor Inc.
(514) 380-1974
Cell: (514) 886-7665
lavoie.luc@quebecor.com





© Quebecor Inc., 2004