A US court has rejected deposed media mogul Conrad Black's last-ditch attempt to block the sale of Hollinger International's prized Daily Telegraphnewspaper.
The ruling paves the way for the Telegraphsale to close as scheduled today, although Mr Black's holding company said it would appeal the judge's decision. Hollinger International last month struck a roughly $1.2 billion deal to sell the Telegraphto the UK's billionaire Barclay brothers.
It also marks the second time that Vice Chancellor Leo Strine, judge at the Delaware Chancery Court, ruled in favor of Hollinger International this year in its tangled legal dispute with Mr Black, who was ousted as chief executive in November in a dispute over payments he collected from the company.
Hollinger International's interim chairman and chief executive, Mr Gordon Paris, said in a statement that the ruling puts the company "in a position to complete this transaction and deliver on our promise to create value for all of our shareholders".
Mr Black's Toronto-based holding company Hollinger Inc, which owns about 68 per cent of publisher Hollinger International's voting rights, said it was disappointed by the ruling.
In the 93-page ruling, Judge Strine said Hollinger International had fully exposed the Telegraph's value to the market and received competitive bids, undermining Mr Black's argument that the sale was not devised after a proper review and should be subject to a shareholder vote.
Judge Strine also struck down Hollinger Inc's argument that the Telegraphdeal would strip Hollinger International of substantially all of its assets, requiring a shareholder vote under Delaware corporate law.