Conrad Black likes to buy low and sell high

It probably won't thrill Conrad Black that we've decided to use his mug shot for this story.

It seemed only fitting that Marketing magazine would choose July 31 to publish a Canadian Press story about Conrad Black's interest in newspapers.

It was 12 years ago on this day that Black and his then–business partner David Radler sold 13 daily papers, 130 community papers, and various magazines and websites to CanWest Global Communications Corp. in a $3.5-billion deal.

Postmedia, which owns 10 daily papers, now has a market capitalization of $30 million—less than one percent of the size of the deal back in 2000.

And guess what? Black says he sees investment potential in Canadian newspapers.

He's just following the adage buy low and sell high.

“There is a great premium to be placed on the editorial function and on the goodwill of a famous trademark like a respected newspaper,” Black told Huffington Post Canada recently. “Any good title that’s grossly underpriced could be interesting.”

The former media baron would have difficulty making a go of any Canadian newspapers, including the National Post, because companies cannot write off advertising as a business expense if the publication is more than 75 percent foreign-owned.

And Black, after all, is a foreigner after renouncing his Canadian citizenship to gain admittance to the British House of Lords.