Alibaba to pay US$266 million for Hong Kong’s SCMP newspaper

A copy of South China Morning Post is displayed on a magazine rack at a coffee shop in Hong Kong, Friday, Dec. 11, 2015. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba says it’s buying Hong Kong’s leading English language newspaper, the South China Morning Post. Alibaba Group said late Friday it signed a deal with publisher SCMP Group to buy the Post and the company’s other media assets, which also include magazines, outdoor advertising and digital media. AP Photo

HONG KONG, China—Chinese Internet giant Alibaba will pay HK$2.06 billion (US$265.8 million) for Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, the newspaper said in a statement to the city’s stock exchange.

Alibaba “has agreed to purchase the media business of the (SCMP) Group for a cash consideration of HK$2,060,600,000,” the statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange said.

The acquisition, announced on Friday, comes at a time when concern over press freedom in Hong Kong is growing after attacks on journalists, reports of pressure on editorial staff from authorities and increasing self-censorship.

The once globally renowned English-language paper was founded in 1903 and has long given international readers an insider’s perspective on Hong Kong and the mainland, but profits and sales have in recent years been hit by an industry-wide decline.

Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch bought the SCMP in 1987, taking it private.

In 1993 Malaysia tycoon Robert Kuok’s Kerry Media bought a controlling interest, prompting an editorial shift towards Beijing.

RELATED STORIES

China’s Alibaba says ‘Singles Day’ sales nearly $8 billion

Alibaba stock soars in jubilant trading debut