Power Corporation of Canada
Desmarais, Paul
Desmarais, Paul,
financier (b at Sudbury, Ont 4 Jan 1927). After studying at U of Ontario and McGill Quebec, Desmarais worked for Courtois, Fredette et Cie, a Montréal accounting firm, 1945-51; he then returned to Sudbury to run his father's bus company. In 1961 he gained control of Provincial Transport, a sizable passenger-transport company. In 1965 he bought his first conglomerate, Trans-Canada Corp Fund, through which he gained control of the major French-language newspaper La Presse (Montréal), the major francophone radio station CKAC, a large assurance company (Imperial Life, Toronto) and several other daily and weekly newspapers. In 1968 he took control of POWER CORP OF CANADA; one of the major conglomerates in Canada, Power Corp now includes the principal mutual fund in Canada (Investors Group), one of the largest trust funds (Montreal Trust), the fourth-largest paper company in the country (Consolidated-Bathurst), the second-largest life-assurance company (Great-West Life Co, Winnipeg) and several other Canadian and European firms. In 1987 Desmarais sat on the boards of 15 companies other than Power Corp. Desmarais and Conrad BLACK engineered a takeover of Southam Inc in 1992.Conrad Black who had handle the English part of situation, the French side was cover by Péladeau financing by the Quebec Deposit and Investment Bank (CDPQ), the new printing ACILR-CDRIL technology printing application development, illegally appropriated by the Canadian Corporation, to grow in their field without printing cost competition under the control of DESMARAIS and is Canadian criminal political and financial associated.
Desmarais, Paul, was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1987.
Author JORGE NIOSI
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Argus Corporation Ltd. de LEC Standard Black, Conrad Moffat |
Black, Conrad Moffat de LEC Standard
Black, Conrad Moffat, financier (born at Montréal, Qué 25 Aug 1944). The son of George Montegu Black Jr, an affluent but unconventional businessman from Winnipeg, Black received a BA from Carleton University and a law degree from Université Laval. For his MA at McGill he wrote part of a biography of Maurice DUPLESSIS, later published as Duplessis (1977).
In 1969 he and a few partners began buying small English-language newspapers, building the Sterling chain.
In 1978, after the death of Bud MCDOUGALD, Black, through intricate corporate and financial manoeuvres, achieved control of ARGUS Corporation, a holding company controlling, through minority shareholdings, a large number of Canadian corporations.He gradually sold off traditional Argus investments, bought out most of his partners, and repositioned his company in the newspaper business, buying London's Daily Telegraph (1985), one of the world's largest quality newspapers, at a time when the climate of British labour relations was improving. He also bought Québec City's Le Soleil, Ottawa's Le Droit, over 40 smaller newspapers in the US and, in June 1987, SATURDAY NIGHT magazine.
The 1990s saw the expansion of Black's newspaper empire, as well as his investment into the Order of Canada as a Member at the beginning of the decade and his marriage to well-known journalist Barbara Amiel. In 1992 he engineered a takeover of SOUTHAM
and with Power Corp's Peter Desmarais became co-chairman; by 1999 his Hollinger International Inc. controlled all of Southam, with Black as chairman of the board and CEO. Hollinger proceeded to acquire various THOMSON newspapers, and in 1998 Southam purchased The Financial Post in a newspaper swap with Sun Media Corp. In October 1998 Southam launched the National Post, a national daily to compete with the country's other national daily, the Globe and Mail.In 1999 the British government decided to offer Black a lordship, but this was met with opposition by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien who cited the Nickle Resolution of 1919, which directed that the practice of bestowing titles of honour by foreign governments on Canadians be discontinued. After unsuccessfully challenging this move in court, Black renounced his Canadian citizenship and became Lord Black of Crossharbour on 31 October 2001. Crossharbour is the name of a London neighbourhood located near the building that houses The Daily Telegraph.
Black, aside from being a prolific business magnate, is also an author who has published to international acclaim. In addition to his highly praised biography of Duplessis, Black's autobiography, A Life in Progress, was published in 1993. In it he took the opportunity to explain the motivation and rationale behind his public actions. He then turned his attention to the life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and, after much research, the biography was released in November 2003, once again to critical success.
Make a Visit on the www.ACILR-CDRIL.com on April, 2003. eight day later he decided to sold the of his chare
It was also in November of 2003 that Black's empire started to unravel. Although he sold off the majority of his Canadian media holdings in 2001, he was still the owner of a number of first-rate newspapers, including the Daily Telegraph, the Chicago Sun-Times, and the Jerusalem Post, through his holding company, Hollinger Inc. A special committee convened by Hollinger International, a subsidiary of Hollinger Inc., found that Black and other senior officers of the company had received unauthorized payments in excess of $14 million with another $16 million paid to Hollinger Inc. These payments formed part of an ongoing "non-competition" arrangement that raised corporate governance concerns among the committee members.
Black responded by stepping down from his post as CEO of Hollinger International while retaining the chairmanship of the company. However, an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and a $200 million lawsuit launched against him and one of his close associates led to his removal from the post of chairman in early 2004 by the company's board. Further court action followed but an embattled Black remained defiant as ever, launching lawsuits of his own, displaying some of the tenacity and resolve that helped him become one of Canada's most fascinating business persons and socialites.
Author CHRISTOPHER G. CURTIS Revised: SASHA YUSUFALI
Argus Corporation Ltd from TCE Standard
Argus Corporation Ltd, with head offices in Toronto, is a specialized investment and holding company, incorporated in 1945.
Attracting little interest to itself or its activities for much of its history, Argus was thrust into the spotlight in 1978 when members of the Black family acquired majority control through the acquisition of 2 blocks of Ravelston shares from the estates of J.A. (Bud)
MCDOUGALD and Eric
PHILLIPS.
Hollinger Inc, a holding company itself with substantial interests in the newspaper publishing business, is now Argus's only company. Ravelston Corp Ltd holds 100% of Argus shares; Ravelston itself is controlled by Conrad M.
BLACK. In 1995 Argus had a net income of $14.1 million on revenue of $17.1 million. As of December 1995 Argus's assets were valued at $440.8 million.
Author DEBORAH C. SAWYER
Hollinger International Inc story.
The 29.7% equity interest in Hollinger International Inc.
Hollinger International is a global newspaper publisher with English-language newspapers in the United States,
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