MONTREAL—Former RR Donnelley CEO Mark Angelson will become chairman of Quebecor World Inc., the company announced yesterday after creditors voted in favour of the printer’s reorganization plan.

About 96% of Canadian creditors and 86% of U.S. creditors approved the plan, the company said.

Next up is a U.S. bankruptcy court hearing in the Southern District of New York set for June 30, where the company will look to get approbation (approval). After that, the company expects to emerge from bankruptcy protection in mid-July.

When that happens, a new board, led by Angelson, who is described in a company press release as “the leading architect of the 2003-2007 printing industry consolidation,” will take control of the company. Tom Ryder, former chairman and CEO of Reader’s Digest, and Jack Kliger, former president and CEO of Hachette Filipacchi will join Angelson on the board.

Both Ryder and Kliger are past chairmen of the U.S. Magazine Publishers' Association.

Also joining the board are Raymond Bromark, chairman of the audit committee of CA, Inc., and a retired senior partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers; “turnaround specialist” James Gaffney; printing industry veteran Michael Allen; Canadian lawyer and former senior officer of Alcan, Inc., David McAusland; and Gabriel de Alba, managing director and partner of Catalyst Capital Group of Toronto.

“The highly fragmented printing industry must undergo further consolidation, and this company will be an important part of that process,” a spokesman for the new board said in a release. “We look forward to providing overall strategic guidance, best governance practices and oversight."

Jacques Mallette, QW’s current chief executive, is the only current board member to survive the upheaval.

Quebecor World is also expected to announce a new name soon. PrintCan has reported that Novink is one of the labels being considered.

Earlier this month, creditors rejected a US$1.55-billion takeover bid from RR Donnelley. Keith Findlay, the chief financial officer of Brymag Transport Inc. of Dorval, Que., a major Quebecor World supplier, told the Globe and Mail “he was not enthusiastic about the Donnelley offer because it would result in less competition in the printing business and likely reduced opportunities for local suppliers such as Brymag.”

Last month, the company projected it would turn a profit of US$7 million in 2010, following a US$184 million loss this year.


Mark Angelson