Hollinger International steps up legal claim against Black

Hollinger International, the owner of the Telegraph Group, will heap more pressure on Lord Black this week by launching a new lawsuit claiming well in excess of the $200m (£112m) in damages it had originally demanded from the beleaguered peer.

Hollinger International, the owner of the Telegraph Group, will heap more pressure on Lord Black this week by launching a new lawsuit claiming well in excess of the $200m (£112m) in damages it had originally demanded from the beleaguered peer.

The new claims relate to the sale of about 20 local US newspapers by Hollinger International to two companies closely linked to Lord Black between 1999 and 2001. It is understood that the two companies paid less than the market price, with some of the newspapers being sold for less than $1.

Hollinger International, which also owns the Chicago Sun-Times and The Jerusalem Post, launched the original claim against Lord Black at the beginning of the year.

In the writ, filed in the northern US state of Illinois, Hollinger International claims it is owed $200m over unauthorised payments made by Lord Black and his associates from company funds. The new suit is believed to be for far more than the original $200m claim, which it replaces. Hollinger International declined to comment.

Hollinger Inc, Lord Black's holding company which controls Hollinger International, announced on Friday night that it would delay its results for 2003 indefinitely. The Toronto-listed holding company said "it does not yet know when it will be in a position to publish its financial statements". Under Canadian law, it must file the results by 19 May.

Richard Breeden, the former chairman of the US Securities & Exchange Commission who has been appointed by Hollinger International to investigate the newspaper group, is expected to complete his report soon.

Lazard is continuing its auction of Hollinger International's assets, which could involve an outright sale of the group. The investment bank has set a deadline of 10 May for second-round bids, but it is thought that this could slip to give all potential bidders access to new financial data about the assets.

German media group Axel Springer and US buyout firm KKR are the frontrunners to acquire the whole group.

The Barclay brothers, publishers of The Scotsman and owners of the Ritz hotel, the Daily Mail and General Trust, and venture capital firm 3i are bidding for the Telegraph Group, which includes the Telegraph titles and The Jerusalem Post.