GLOBAL BUYERS LINING UP FOR PIECE OF MALAYSIA’S GIANT MERGED ENTITY MEDIA BUSINESS
January 15th 2008 11:03
International buyers including those from the media industries are interested to acquire a stake in the Malaysian merged entity of Sin Chew Media Corporation Bhd, Nanyang Press Holdings Bhd and Hong Kong-based Ming Pao Enterprise Corporation Ltd.
The Edge Daily reports that Sin Chew’s executive director Rita Sim said the suitors had expressed interest in the merged entity since the announcement of the merger last April, which will result in the first and largest global Chinese language media player.
“We can’t make a decision until a direction has been set by the new board,” said Sim, declining to disclose the identity of the suitors.
Tan Sri Tiong Hiew King, who controls the three newspaper publishing groups, will assume the role of executive chairman and will hold about 53 percent stake out of 1.7 billion shares in the new entity.
The dual listing of the merged entity creates history, as it will be the first Malaysian company to be listed locally and in Hong Kong while Ming Pao is the first Bermuda-registered company to be listed on Bursa Malaysia.
Post-merger, the group will have a daily circulation of one million copies from the five dailies, including Ming Pao overseas. It will also own 33 magazines around the world, eight portals and employ 5,300 people.
Asked if the four top Chinese dailies in Malaysia would be merged, Rita Sim said the dailies would continue to run independently.
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