Black resigns over claim

CONRAD BLACK has quit as chief executive officer of Hollinger International Inc, and has put the company up for sale after an internal investigation found he misled shareholders over $32 million paid to executives.

The company’s publications include The Daily Telegraph. The payments included $7.2 million Black received personally.

Hollinger, whose holdings include the Chicago Sun-Times, hired Lazard LLC to find a buyer, the company said. Black, David Radler (who quit as Hollinger’s president and vice chairman) and executive vice president Peter Atkinson agreed to return $15 million plus interest.