LONDON (Brand Republic) – Hollinger International, the owner of the Daily Telegraph, has entered into a fierce legal battle with Express Newspaper proprietor Richard Desmond over the ownership of their jointly-owned West Ferry printing business.
Lawyers acting for Desmond are believed to have served a petition to the High Court accusing the Telegraph Group of prejudicial behaviour. It is also serving damage claims on all the directors at West Ferry for breach of fiduciary duty.
The lawsuit follows months of wrangling over the value Desmond’s half of the business, which he acquired when he took over Express Newspapers from United Business Media last November.
When the Telegraph Group decided to exercise its contractual right to buy out Northern & Shell, all N&S directors had to resign from the West Ferry board.
Desmond is alleging that the board agreed that the Telegraph would not be bound by the price set by arbitration after N&S directors left.
N&S’s 50% stake in West Ferry is said to be worth around £68m based on its assets. This figure is thought to be a great deal more than the Telegraph Group is willing to pay.