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Newspaper boxes selling The Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star are seen in Toronto.Louie Palu/The Globe and Mail

The Globe and Mail and Toronto Star have struck a deal that will see them merge their Ontario distribution networks.

Newspapers around the world are struggling to cut costs as print advertising falls off, and the papers said this deal allows them to "contain overall costs by capitalizing on the economies of scale, leverage best practices and create more efficient operations."

The papers, which are competitors editorially but share ownership of the Canadian Press wire service, said they would continue to "operate separately in all other aspects of their business, including editorial, advertising, sales, production and other products."

"This partnership allows The Globe and Mail to benefit from blended operational best practices while still maintaining a direct and independent relationship with our valued subscribers and readers," said Globe publisher Phillip Crawley. "As our industry faces the reality of increasing distribution costs, this partnership model allows us to potentially expand our distribution footprint and implement consistent service standards across Ontario."

Star publisher John Cruickshank said the deal would result in "savings for both companies and better service for our readers and advertisers."

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