Who Knew? Turns out Media Whore Bob Novak works for a corporate sneak thief:
media.guardian.co.uk
Conrad Black steps down
Owen Gibson
Monday November 17, 2003
Black: Hollinger admitted on Friday payments received from rival publishers had not been disclosed to investors.
Beleaguered Hollinger International chief Conrad Black, owner of the Daily Telegraph, dramatically agreed to resign this morning along with other top executives after admitting to receiving secret payments.
Hollinger International, the newspaper group controlled by the Tory peer, admitted on Friday that payments received from rival publishers had not been disclosed to investors.
Lord Black had been attempting to restructure his debt-laden newspaper empire amid investor criticism of his conduct as chairman and chief executive of Hollinger.
He will step down as chief executive on Friday, as will the chief operating officer, David Radler, and corporate counsel Mark Kipnis. The company has also terminated the contract of the vice-president, Jack Boultbee.
The Canadian born newspaper tycoon will remain on the Hollinger International board as non-executive chairman and devote his time to looking at strategic alternatives for the group.
Gordon Paris, currently a director, will take temporary charge of the company as interim chief executive, according to a news release from Hollinger.
Lord Black agreed to step down after an independent board committee set up earlier this year found that $32.15m in payments were made that were not authorised or approved by either the audit committee or the full board of directors.
Of the total, $16.55m was paid to Lord Black's parent company Hollinger in 1999 and 2000, and $7.2m each was paid to Lord Black and Mr Radler in 2000 and 2001. Mr Boultbee and Peter Atkinson, who remains an executive vice-president, were each paid $600,000.
Lord Black had earlier claimed all payments to executives had been cleared by the board and the audit committee and that they represented "closing conditions" on the sale of some newspapers in the US and Canada.
"Now is the appropriate time to explore strategic opportunities to maximise value for all shareholders of Hollinger International," Lord Black said today.
"Reflecting my full support of this process, I will be devoting my attention in coming months to achieving a successful outcome for all Hollinger shareholders. The present structure of the group clearly must be renovated," he added.
The group, which owns newspapers including the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Jerusalem Post, also said it had hired Lazard LLC to investigate the possible sale of the company or its key assets.
"We will continue to cooperate entirely with the special committee to resolve corporate governance concerns," said Lord Black, who in recent months has railed against shareholder's "fantastic claims about self-enrichment", blaming the rise of "corporate governance zealots" in the US.
The undisclosed payments were unearthed by an independent committee of Hollinger directors led by the former chairman of SEC, Richard Breeden. Hollinger said the committee had also found inaccuracies in earlier Hollinger filings involving the "amount, authorisation and purpose of such payments".
"This is a pivotal moment in Hollinger's history, and I welcome the opportunity to work with all the employees of Hollinger and its board to ensure a smooth transition. The company has magnificent assets and a superb group of employees who have created tremendous vitality and quality in our publications," Mr Paris said today. |
