By: E&P Staff In the latest of its periodic court-ordered status updates, Toronto-based Hollinger Inc. offers no new clues about what steps it may take to place its representatives on the board of newspaper publisher Hollinger International Inc.
Hollinger Inc., once controlled by indicted former newspaper baron Conrad M. Black, is the controlling shareholder of Hollinger International, and has demanded at least two seats on the board of the Chicago-based firm that publishes the Chicago Sun-Times and other papers.
In its filing late Thursday, Hollinger Inc. says only that it considered "unacceptable" an alternative proposal from Hollinger International -- giving "Inc." a single seat on the board with the condition that the director always vote the way the majority of common shareholder do for the next 18 months.
Inc.'s update came one day after "International" finally caught up with its financial reporting requirements by filing its third-quarter 2005 results with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) -- but Inc. said it is still unable "for various reasons" to provide the SEC or Canadian regulators with complete and audited annual statements for 2003 and 2004, or any quarterly statements for 2005 and last year. Last March, it released an unaudited consolidated balance sheet for September 30, 2004.
"The Audit Committee is working with the auditors, and discussing with regulators, various alternatives to provide financial information to the public," the company said.
Hollinger Inc. also disclosed that it settled litigation with Wells Fargo Bank N.A. and Key Corporate Capital N.A. Dec. 22 over an aircraft lease by paying U.S.$800,000 as its share of the settlement. It said Hollinger International also contributed US$800,000 to the settlement.
Hollinger Inc.'s principal asset is its approximately 66.8% voting and 17.4% equity interest in Hollinger International.
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