Startup hub Sprouter finds new home at Postmedia

* Sprouter had shut its doors in August

* Postmedia wants growth in digital revenue

TORONTO, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Sprouter Inc, a startup that
tries to match entrepreneurs worldwide with investors, has been
bought by the publisher of Canada's largest chain of daily
newspapers, the companies said on Monday.

Postmedia Network (PNCa.TO), whose titles include the
National Post, Montreal Gazette and Vancouver Sun, paid an
undisclosed sum for Sprouter, which runs an online forum that
helps match new businesses with early-stage investors.

"Sprouter complements our Digital First strategy and brings
a spark of digital entrepreneurship," Paul Godfrey, Postmedia's
chief executive, said in a statement.

Godfrey, who led bondholders in a structured buyout of the
newspaper assets of the now defunct Canwest media conglomerate,
expects a quarter of Postmedia's revenue to come from its
websites, smartphone and tablet applications and other digitial
services within four years. The figure is about 10 percent
currently. [ID:nN12164676]

The four-person Sprouter team, which also publishes a
weekly e-newsletter and hosts networking events in which
founders share their experiences with others, had said it was
shutting down in August due to a lack of funds.

Postmedia filed for a listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange
in March, a condition of its restructuring, and posted a net
loss of C$3.9 million ($3.7 million) in July after its first
quarter as a public company.

($1=$1.05 Canadian)
(Reporting by Alastair Sharp; editing by Peter Galloway)