By: Mark Fitzgerald An arbitrator has ruled Sun-Times Media Group must pay Canwest Global Communications at least $42 million in a dispute dating back to the reign of jailed former newspaper baron Conrad Black, the companies announced Thursday.
Sun-Times suggested it might appeal the decision. Canwest, in its own statement, said there is a "limited" right to appeal the arbitrator's decision to the Ontario Superior Court.
The roots of the dispute trace back to 2000 when Black's Hollinger International, as Sun-Times Media Group was then known, was in the midst of selling off its smaller papers, and virtually all of its Canadian papers.
Winnipeg-based Canwest, a diversified media company that is Canada's largest newspaper publisher, bought a group of papers, but quickly became embroiled in a dispute over adjustments to the deal.
Canwest contended it was owed C$84 million (US$69 million), while Hollinger claimed it was the one who deserved more money, specifically C$116 million (US$95.2 million).
The arbitrator's award does not include interest and costs, which both companies said would be determined later.
Sun-Times said it had established a reserve on its balance sheet of C$15 million (US$12.3 million) for the arbitration, and that it had another escrow account holding C$22 million (US$18.1 million) that might be available for the final award.
"While the proceedings have been protracted over several years, we obviously feel justified that the time and effort it took to pursue the claim has been worth it," Canwest CEO Leonard Asper said in a statement.
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