Canwest to hire exec to lead restructuring-paper

June 4 (Reuters) - Canwest Global Communications CGS.TO, Canada's biggest media company, is planning to hire a senior executive to lead a financial restructuring and possibly supersede Chief Executive Leonard Asper, the Globe and Mail reported on its website on Thursday.

The new executive's exact role has not been defined, the paper said, adding that the position is expected to be filled by the end of the month.

Canwest must nominate candidates to lead the company's restructuring, from which its bondholders and creditors will pick, the paper said, citing information from documents filed by the company with securities regulators.

No-one at Canwest could be reached for comment after business hours.

Canwest said last month it had secured a C$175 million ($153.5 million) financing lifeline as it fights to restructure its mounting debt load while contending with a sharp downturn in the advertising market.

Its overall debt stands at close to C$4 billion, some of it dating back to its 2000 acquisition of newspapers from former press baron Conrad Black's Hollinger International. [ID:nN20503652] (Reporting by Ajay Kamalakaran in Bangalore; Editing by David Holmes) ($1=1.110 CANADIAN DOLLAR)