“Desmarais purchased 2.8 million shares, about 2.1 million class A common shares and 700,000 second preferred shares. He said he bought all the Power shares held by the Caisse de Depot du Quebec, amounting to 2,001,300 common shares and 333,000 preferred, with the rest coming from Peter Nesbitt Thomson, deputy chairman of Power and ‘other persons associated with him.’ The shares were bought by an unspecified private holding company belonging to Desmarais.”
Anonymous, “Power Corp. Chairman Increases Control With $31 Million Buy,” Winnipeg Free Press, 16 July 1977, 17.