56% majority stake in VerticalScope, a Toronto-based operator of online communities, for $200 million. The company operates websites and message boards that focus on niche categories, particularly within the automotive industry. Torstar CEO David Holland explained that the purchase was designed to bolster the company's presence in digital media. Star Touch and ePaper apps Launched in 2015, Toronto Star Touch was the company's app designed specifically for tablet computers. It was discontinued in late July 2017 after an investment totaling $20 million because of an inadequate volume of readers and advertisers and was replaced by universal apps available for both Android and iOS smartphones and tablets. Management The following is a list of past presidents and CEOs of Torstar: Beland Honderich 1966–1988 (as president), 1976–1988 (as CEO and chair) David R. Jolley 1988–1994 David A. Galloway 1988–2002 J. Robert S. Prichard 2002–2009 David P. Holland 2009–2017 Neil Oliver 2022–present Other investments Torstar owns a 20 per cent stake in the Victoria, British Columbia-based newspaper publisher Black Press, and a 16 per cent stake in broadcaster Blue Ant Media. The company is also part owner of The Canadian Press. Past investments Torstar launched a weekly celebrity-based magazine called Scoop in 2005, which folded one year later. Between late 2005 and early 2011, Torstar also held a 20 per cent stake in CTVglobemedia, a Canadian media company which broke up when BCE Inc., the parent company of Bell Canada, purchased the company's media assets. This caused some controversy because CTVgm owned The Globe and Mail, a competing newspaper to Torstar's own Toronto Star. There were no editorial hurdles between the two newspapers however. Torstar sold its shares in 2011. On May 2, 2014, Torstar announced the sale of Harlequin Enterprises, a publisher of romance novels, to HarperCollins for $415 million. See also Postmedia Network Quebecor Media The Woodbridge Company Grant v. Torstar Corp. References External links Torstar corporate webpage Companies formerly listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange Newspaper companies of Canada Companies based in Toronto 1958 establishments in Ontario