Brothers Henry and Nelson Thall Jr. are young Toronto musicians whose lush studio work reflects influences from Pink Floyd to Stravinsky. Their dream is to make music with their group, Theta, and produce the work of other artists.
"I would like to be a [diversified]producer/musician that owns and runs a record label and studio, putting out music transcending all genres," Henry wrote in an e-mail describing his goals and those of his brother.
What Mr. Thall did not mention is the role of newspapers in his future. When asked for his views on the Thall family's rich newspaper legacy, he did not respond by e-mail.
The Thalls' opinion of newspapers, and specifically the Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper, is suddenly very relevant. The brothers are third-generation standard-bearers for one of the five families that control Torstar Corp., the holding company for the Star.
The Thall family announced last week it would be selling some or all of the family's non-voting shares, sparking questions about whether this is the first crack in the voting trust that for 50 years has owned the Star and other media properties.
Could Torstar finally be put into play?
"We expect this will drive short-term speculation regarding a transformational event at Torstar," wrote Tim Casey, media analyst for BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. in a research report last week.
Mr. Casey himself advised caution in reading too much into the announcement. After all, the family is selling Class B shares, not its 14.7-per-cent stake in Torstar's Class A voting shares.
He expects other trust members - the Campbell, Atkinson, Honderich and Hindmarsh families - have rights of first refusal on each other's voting blocs.
And a takeover is not likely in the midst of a severe global credit tightening.
Yet, he added in the report, "if one assumes that this is the first move in a larger play, then the stakes get far more interesting."
One relevant event is the sale of Dow Jones & Co. Inc., including The Wall Street Journal, by the Bancroft family, who have owned the company for 105 years.
The Bancrofts, like the Thalls, once expressed deep commitment to a venerable newspaper property. But as the family became more scattered and less connected to its major asset, that commitment ebbed, thus exposing it to an acquisitive News Corp., led by Rupert Murdoch.
"The issue for Torstar shareholders is: Where's their Rupert?" Mr. Casey said, observing that Mr. Murdoch saw the Journal as a key asset in building a new business cable channel and an online presence.
"We know of no motivated strategic buyer for Torstar's core assets," he said. He pointed to the underperformance of the Toronto Star and cultural protection laws that make it difficult for a foreign buyer to acquire Harlequin, Torstar's publisher of romance fiction.
That did not prevent Mr. Casey putting a price tag on a potential buyout. He could see a takeout equity value in the $30 range - compared with $20.49 closing price Friday - depending on the tax structure of the deal. Depending on the multiples, the deal's total equity value could range from $1.9-billion to $2.6-billion.
But that would mean the breakup of a voting trust whose origins can be traced to 1948, when the death of Toronto Star publisher Joseph Atkinson plunged the newspaper into an ownership crisis - and a fear that the hallowed Atkinson principles of social justice would be lost.
It was only resolved when five parties involved in the paper stepped up - Ruth Atkinson Hindmarsh; the Atkinson family; and Star managers Beland Honderich, William Campbell and Burnett Thall. They created the trust which still controls almost all the Torstar votes.
Mr. Thall, now in his mid-80s, was unavailable for comment on his family's intentions. His son Martin, a Torstar director, did not return calls, and another son Nelson, a former talk radio personality and father of Henry and Nelson Jr., refused comment.
But John Honderich, son of the late Beland Honderich, said the planned sale of the Thalls' class B shares does not signal a restructuring of the voting trust.
"In the past, there have been more than a few sales of B shares by voting trust members," he said by e-mail. "The percentages held by the five families is dictated by its holdings of A shares, none of which, parenthetically, have ever been transferred outside the voting trust since its inception."
That, of course, is now, but what about the future? The resiliency of the trust depends on the families' continuing commitment to an uncertain newspaper industry and to the survival of the Atkinson principles. Much depends on the passion of young Henry Thall and his generation.
But the Thall family's enthusiasm for newspapers could be waning in any case. That appears implicit in the announcement that the family is selling as many as 1.8 million non-voting Torstar shares to diversify its holdings. Also, Burnett Thall questioned in a conversation last year whether newspapers were as strong a financial investment as they once were.
Each of the five families likely has the right to buy voting shares if another family decides to sell.
However, should the Thalls decide to divest the more than $38-million worth of non-voting shares they own, these shares would likely trade on the open market.
Campbell Harvey, a Duke University professor who represents Campbell interests in the trust, said his family already holds a large stake. He could not say if they would move to acquire any of the Thall's non-voting shares.
But Mr. Honderich said none of the B shares will be picked up by other members of the voting trust. "Insider reports - or rather the lack of them - will eventually show that."
If the Thalls' A shares were ever offered, that would be a different story. But the Thall family would want a hefty payday, and it is unclear which of the other families could come up with the financing.
The player to watch in the future is Mr. Honderich, who appears to be the most committed to the business and retains strong ties to Bay Street financiers.
Grant Robertson