Hollinger Will Miss Report Deadline

By: Mark Fitzgerald In an announcement after markets closed this afternoon, Conrad Black's Hollinger Inc. said it would miss the Canadian regulatory deadlines for the financial statements for 2003 and the first quarter of this year.

Hollinger Inc., which also postponed its unscheduled annual meeting, said it didn't know when it would file the statements, "but it is actively exploring various options that may be available to it." Under Canadian securities laws, the annual financial statements plus the related management's discussion and analysis would be due May 19. The first quarter statements and discussion are due May 15.

Separately, Reuters quoted a spokesperson for Hollinger International as saying Friday that the Chicago-based company -- publisher of the Chicago Sun-Times, The Daily Telegraph in London and other papers -- will file "on or before May 7," a revised lawsuit in federal court against Black. The spokesperson would not say how the lawsuit, first filed in January, would be revised. Hollinger International filed a suit accusing the former chairman and several other fired top executives of collecting unapproved payments in excess of $200 million that they either paid to themselves or companies they controlled. In response to those allegations, Black has filed a defamation suit against several Hollinger International directors in Ontario.

Also Friday, The Wall Street Journal, citing unidentified sources, reported the amended lawsuit would contain findings from a special Hollinger International directors committee that Horizon Publications Inc., a company controlled by Black, former Chief Financial Officer F. David Radler and other former Hollinger International executives bought newspapers from Hollinger at less than market value. It quoted a spokesman for Black as saying all transactions were approved by independent directors.

The developments come as Hollinger International is moving to the final stages of the auction of its newspapers. Through his control of Hollinger Inc., Black has an approximately 72.3% voting and 29.7% equity interest in Hollinger International.