Hollinger International: The Lord Black Saga

Conrad Moffat Black belonged to a wealthy family in Toronto, Canada. His father was the President of Canadian Breweries, a part of Argus Corporation (Argus).³ Black's father was also a board member and major shareholder at Argus. Black initially enrolled at Upper Canada College in History, but was expelled from there for selling exam papers. He completed his graduation from Carleton University in 1965 and followed up with a post graduate degree in history from McGill University. In 1970, he also got a degree in French civil law from Laval University. Black got his first informal education on the corporate world through his father. With his friends, David Radler (Radler) and Peter G. White (White), the younger Black bought Sherbrooke Record, a small English daily in Quebec, Canada.

Ravelston was a private company that represented more than 50% of the voting rights of Argus. In 1976, following the death of his father, Black became a board member at both Ravelston and Argus. Soon, he took over Ravelston by gaining a stake of around 70% in the company and became President of Argus. In 1978, Black acquired control of Hollinger Mines and changed it to Hollinger Argus Limited. In September 1985, Hollinger Argus Limited amalgamated with Argcen Holdings Inc. (formerly Dominion Stores Limited) and Labmin Resources Limited (formerly Labrador Mining and Exploration Company Limited) to form Hollinger Inc. (Hollinger). In the years that followed, Hollinger went on an expansion spree, acquiring numerous newspapers in Canada and the USA...