Alibaba in talks with Hong Kong's SCMP Group for media assets - source (updated)

Great Wall Pan Asia Holdings

26/11/2015 06:33

(Recasts, changes sourcing, adds comments from SCMP) 
    By John Ruwitch and Anne Marie Roantree 
    SHANGHAI/HONG KONG, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Chinese e-commerce 
titan Alibaba Group Holding Ltd  BABA.N  has approached the 
publisher of Hong Kong's South China Morning Post newspaper to 
discuss buying its media assets, a source familiar with the 
matter said on Thursday. 
    Earlier, publisher SCMP Group Ltd  0583.HK  said it had 
received a preliminary approach by an unidentified third party 
interested in its media properties, which include the 
century-old newspaper. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nWNBS01P5K 
    The South China Morning Post occupies an important position 
among the English-speaking elite that still dominates the former 
British colony. Chinese-language dailies may be more influential 
than the Post, but changes in its editorial direction are seen 
as a barometer for press freedom under Chinese rule. 
    On Monday, Bloomberg News reported that Alibaba executive 
chairman Jack Ma was in advanced talks to take a stake in SCMP. 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N13I2JX 
    The source told Reuters the talks involved Alibaba rather 
than a private investment by Ma. The Hangzhou-based company has 
been expanding into the media sector with deals in news and 
advertising.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nASB09QP5 
    Some journalists at the South China Morning Post welcomed 
the news, saying Ma had a reputation for treating staff well. 
    Others were cautious. 
    "Be careful what you wish for," said an editor who spoke on 
condition of anonymity. He said some journalists were wary of 
perceived close ties between Ma, a mainland Chinese citizen, and 
the leadership in Beijing. 
    SCMP declined to comment. 
    Duncan Clark, chairman of Beijing-based tech consultancy BDA 
China, said Jack Ma was unlikely to turn the SCMP into a 
propaganda tool either for Beijing or Alibaba. 
    "They are more sophisticated than that," he said. 
    Consideration of the investment proposal is at a very early 
stage and the terms are subject to further discussion and 
regulatory approval, SCMP Group said in its statement. 
    "There are reports out there that say a signing ceremony is 
imminent. We don't see that," said Michael Chu, director of 
Group Marketing & Events at SCMP Group. 
    "As with any business discussion, I would say there is a 
degree of uncertainty. Things could change." 
    Alibaba spokeswoman Rachel Chan declined to comment. 
    Beyond the newspaper, SCMP Group also has a licence to 
several publications, including Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazaar 
and The Peak magazine. In October, it ventured into e-commerce 
by investing in Hong Kong-based online retailer MyDress.com. 
    In 2013, a reporter for the Post quit after quoting Ma as 
having made remarks in support of Beijing's violent crackdown on 
pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Ma denied 
at the time that he had made such an assertion. 
    Earlier this month, the South China Morning Post said the 
newspaper's deputy editor, Tammy Tam, would succeed Wang 
Xiangwei as editor-in-chief on January 1. 
 
 (Additional reporting by Lee Chyen Yee in Sinagpore, Bengaluru 
newsroom and James Pomfret in Hong Kong; Editing by Mark 
Bendeich) 
 ((john.ruwitch@thomsonreuters.com; +86 21 6104 1786; Reuters 
Messaging: john.ruwitch.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: SCMP M&A/