Torstar, owner of the Toronto Star, is funding the initial startup costs for Tekan, but hopes to be a minority shareholder as other publishers join the company. Doug Clarke, former COO of VerticalScope, is the president of Tekan.

            The first move of Tekan is to partner with TownNews, based in Illinois, for a new content management system, marking the first time TownNews is entering Canada. The company provides CMS services to US newspapers, including Berkshire-Hathaway Media, Digital First Media and Adams Publishing Group.

            The system comes with advanced audience and digital subscription capabilities that could speed up subscription revenue growth, advanced analytics, e-editions creation, and a host of other applications.