CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc. has sold its one-third interest in Vancouver's and Ottawa's free daily Metro newspapers.
Torstar Corp. and Metro International SA will now share ownership of all six Canadian Metro newspapers.
CanWest said it sold its interest in the free daily papers because they no longer fit the strategic direction of its publications group.
Metro Vancouver was the city's first free daily paper launched in March 2005 with a reported circulation of roughly 145,000. It was followed a month later by Sun Media and Jim Pattison's joint venture 24 Hours.
The print version of CanWest's Dose, a youth-focused free daily that was launched in April 2005, folded 13 months later, after ringing up more than $9 million in losses.