Black sues to stop Telegraph sale

Lord Black's stake in the papers' parent has dwindled

Conrad Black is suing to stop the sell-off of the Daily Telegraph and its sister titles without his approval.

Hollinger International, the papers' parent, is selling the two Telegraph titles and the Spectator magazine to the Barclay brothers for £665m.

Lord Black was removed as chief executive of Hollinger International over disputed payments in November.

Now his holding company Hollinger Inc, which has a controlling stake, wants a veto on the proposed deal.

The sale amounts to a disposal of "a substantial majority of (International's) value and... therefore requires shareholder approval", Hollinger Inc said in a statement.

International disagrees, and says it therefore does not need to hold a vote.

Hollinger Inc still controls 68% of the votes in Hollinger International via a 18.2% shareholding, most of which comprises a special class of shares with 10 times the usual voting rights.

A further 10% holding - giving another 4% of the votes - was sold off earlier this week to ease Hollinger Inc's cash crunch.

Court arguments

The proposed suit marks the latest twist in the long-running dispute between Lord Black and the newspaper group with which he has been closely identified for years.

The peer's ousting in November from the top job followed the identification by International of what it said were unauthorised payments by Black to himself and other directors.

A court case in Delaware in February blocked a private sale by Lord Black of his interest in International to the billionaire Barclay twins.

The judge in that case, Leo Strine, was highly critical of Lord Black's behaviour - and his demeanour in court.

Following the case, International sued its former chief for $1.25bn.

Controlling stake

But now the same judge has given permission for Hollinger Inc to sue.

A success would effectively grant Lord Black a veto over the Telegraph sale.

Hollinger Inc claims it has not been given vital financial information, particularly about tax liabilities the sale would produce.

Lord Black's own company, Ravelston, has a majority stake in Hollinger Inc.