Some trade baseball cards. In Rosedale, the neighbourhood boys trade media empires.

Locals David Thomson and Ivan Fecan are at the centre of last month’s high-profile purchasing blitz that will see the majority ownership of both CTV and the Globe and Mail split apart into new hands. Thomson — Canada’s richest man and a media mogul —is increasing his family’s stake in the Globe and Mail to 85 per cent. The acquistion is happening via his family’s investment company, Woodbridge Company Ltd. “The Globe and Mail is the country’s finest media property,” said Thomson in a recently released statement. The Thomson family has been a principal shareholder of the national newspaper since 1980.

As for CTV, Bell’s parent company Bell Canada Enteprises completed a $1.3 billion deal under the direction of president George Cope, attaining 100 per cent ownership of the Canadian network. 

Fecan, the CEO of CTV, called the move “the right deal at the right time,” in a recent statement. Most recently, Fecan announced his plans to retire as CEO, once ownership deals are finalized in 2011.