Conrad Black's press empire, once the world's third largest, has now almost totally crumbled.

Two British tycoons, Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay, have launched a $605 million takeover bid to buy Lord Black's Toronto-based company, Hollinger Inc. It is the controlling shareholder of the Hollinger International newspaper chain.

That move comes on the heels of a late Friday announcement by Hollinger International that it was suing Black and some associates for about $260 million.

The nub of the dispute is that Black used the company to enrich himself and some associates at the expense of less connected shareholders through sham accounting, unauthorized expenditures and other means.

Black and most of his associates had previously agreed to repay funds for unauthorized non-competition fees stemming from the sale of Hollinger International assets and other transactions.

Earlier Friday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claimed Hollinger International's books had been tampered with.

On Saturday, the Chicago-based company said it was removing Black as non-executive chairman.

Black then announced the sale of Hollinger on Sunday.

"The speed at which Lord Black's international media empire has collapsed is absolutely remarkable," said David Estok, a University of Western Ontario journalism professor.

"He is a man who turned a deaf ear to the growing need for corporate governance in the United States and he's now paying the price."

The Globe and Mail reported the bid amounts to $423 million as well as the assumption of $181.7 million in debt.

The Barclay brothers' company, Press Holdings International, owns several papers in the United Kingdom including The Scotsman and the Edinburgh Evening News.

The Hollinger chain operates such newspapers as The Telegraph, The Chicago Sun-Times and The Jerusalem Post.

In a statement, Black said it would be "distressing" to part with the London Telegraph and other Hollinger papers "but these fine titles must not be hobbled any longer by the current controversies and financial uncertainty.

"They will be in good and caring hands and we will be able to focus exclusively on resolving current legal and public relations concerns," he said.

In a separate release, Sir David Barclay said that he was "delighted" to enter the agreement to buy Hollinger Inc. "and I have no doubt that the financial strength and direction that we can bring will allow the group to flourish."

While Black may get a cheque from the Barclays for $605 million, he won't keep all of it.

Various shareholders, regulators and bankers have all got claims against him.

Besides that, U.S. authorities are still investigating him. Civil or even criminal penalties are looking like increasingly likely possibilities.

From 1996 to 2000, Black controlled over 60 newspapers in Canada. He founded the National Post in 1998.

"The creation of the National Post was an absolute great move for Canadian journalism. It made the Globe (and Mail newspaper) and others sit up and take notice," Estok said.

"It improved journalists' salaries but his overall history as a press baron is one which historians will probably say is mixed."

Struggling under a heavy debt load, Black sold out to fellow media mogul Izzy Asper's CanWest Global Communications Corp. in 2000 for $3.2 billion.

He still has some small, regional newspaper holdings in the U.S. and Canada.

Black renounced his Canadian citizenship so he could accept a British peerage. Such titles are lifetime awards, and the sale of his prestigious Telegraph paper won't affect his title as Lord Black of Crossharbour.