As Conrad Black’s world collapses around him, Crikey has a look at what
the papers are saying and just who those crazy Scottish twins are.
This Conrad Black story really is a cracker. Shares in his company
Hollinger Inc doubled on the Toronto market overnight after the Barclay
Brothers lobbed a $A620 million bid on the table, which will put about
$A340 million directly into Conrad’s hands once the $186 million in
Hollinger Inc debt is paid off.

The lad has just sought an injunction in the Canadian Supreme Court to
stop his warring directors from opposing the Barclay takeover.

It is important to understand the structure of Black’s empire. His
Canadian company Hollinger Inc, 78 per cent owned by Black, is the one
being taken over. It own 30 per cent of the total equity and 63 per
cent of the voting stock in Chicago-based Hollinger International,
which directly owns the prime newspaper properties such as the
Telegraphs in London, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Jerusalem Post.

Therefore, the Barclays are nominally buying voting control of the
Canadian holding company but the warring directors could yet sell the
papers directly from under them.

Finally, check out the amazing bluster of Conrad Black in this letter to the Hollinger International directors: Letter from Conrad Black to Hollinger International

Read about the soaring share prices in the Toronto Star here:
Black seeks court injunction

And this is what Black’s own Chicago Sun-Times is reporting on the story:
Scots bid for control of Sun-Times

Check out this interview David Barclay gave The Guardian where it is
suggested The Telegraph in the future will not automatically support
the Tories:
Telegraph could back Labour, says Barclay