In Business This Week

CONRAD BLACK TODDLES INTO CHICAGO

Conrad Black's newspaper empire just got a lot bigger. After establishing footholds beyond his native Canada in Britain, Israel, and Australia, Black's Hollinger Inc. plans to spend $180 million to buy Chicago's No.2 daily, the Sun-Times, and two companion suburban chains. It's the third time in a decade the big tabloid has changed hands. Black has long eyed expanding his collection of small-town U.S. papers, and was a losing bidder for the New York Daily News. He plans to spin off equity in his U.S. papers.EDITED BY KEITH H. HAMMONDS