breaking news

Nanyang Press, the publisher of two major Chinese dailies, has been sold to MCA's Huaren Management for RM230 million in cash, according to an announcement made to the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange today.

The adviser, Commerce International Merchant Bankers, said in a statement to KLSE that tycoon Quek Leng Chan's Hume Industries and its wholly owned subsidiary Hume Plastics have accepted the offer from Huaren to purchase a combined stake of 72 per cent in Nanyang.

Hume Industries and Hume Plastics which jointly hold 41.8 million ordinary shares of RM1 each will sell their entire stake to Huaren for RM5.50.

The statement said that the proposed deal "was arrived at based on a willing buyer-willing seller basis after taking into consideration the premium for controlling interest in an established Chinese newspaper publishing company".

It added that the deal should be signed no later than 4pm on Thursday, May 31.

According to the statement, Hume Industries will seek ratification of its shareholders for the deal at an extraordinary general meeting in which the company's major shareholder Hong Leong Group with 51.2 percent stake has agreed to back the transaction.

In addition, Huaren will have to make a general offer for the rest of Nanyang it does not own at RM5.50 per share. This means that it could potentially cost Huaren a total of RM336.5 million to acquire the listed publisher.

The newspapers and magazines published by the Nanyang group include national dailies Nanyang Siang Pau and China Press , magazines New Life Post , Feminine , New Tide , Long Life and CittaBella .

New management

A number of top managers and key editors of Nanyang were ordered to vacate their office by 8pm today.

Sources told malaysiakini that a new management led by rival media group Sin Chew Jit Poh 's group chief executive officer PC Liew is expected to take over from tonight.

Among those told to leave are Nanyang's group managing director Wong Ah Lek, editor-in-chief Wong Kam Hor, deputy editor-in-chief Looi Chee Kien, group executive director Kou Yok Liong, managing editor Ng Yen Fah and senior feature writer Chung Bing Jiun.