TORONTO – Leonard Asper has resigned from the board of Canwest Global Communications Corp. and stepped down as chief executive of the media company founded by his father.
"I am writing you today to advise you that last night I advised our board of directors that effective immediately I am resigning," Asper said Thursday in a memo to Canwest staff.
A statement from the company said Asper was leaving to pursue other business opportunities "and to avoid any concerns regarding potential conflicts of interest."
Canwest Media Inc., or CMI, which holds the company’s broadcast assets, has been in creditor protection since early October. Canwest is attempting to restructure its main division that houses the Global TV among other assets and emerge as a going concern. Creditors have taken control of the company’s other major operating arm, Canwest LP, which operates the company’s publishing assets. They plan to sell the unit off or take it public.
"As the company continues to work through the separate, court-supervised financial restructurings of the publishing and broadcasting groups, it is a natural time for me to move on," said Asper, 46, who took control of the company in 1999 after his father and Canwest founder, the late Izzy Asper, stepped down.
Under Leonard’s watch, the company acquired several major newspapers across the country, including the National Post, The Vancouver Sun and The Gazette of Montreal and a highly profitable stable of specialty TV channels. However, the moves loaded Canwest with billions of dollars of debt that became unmanageable as the economy slide into recession.
Peter Viner, president of Canwest’s television business, will assume control of that group’s operations, the company said. The publishing arm will continue to be run by Dennis Skulsky.
Canwest News Service
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