Alibaba Group in $266m South China Morning Post deal

Alibaba Group has agreed on a $266m (€205.5m) deal to acquire the South China Morning Post and other media assets of SCMP Group. The deal has raised questions over editorial independence.

In a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange yesterday, SCMP cited an “uncertain” future for traditional publishing as a key reason behind the sale, adding Alibaba would likely be able to “unlock greater value” from the business.

The cash purchase gives control of the 112-year-old English-language newspaper from Malaysian tycoon Robert Kuok to Chinese billionaire Jack Ma at a time of growing concern at Beijing’s hold on China’s most free-wheeling city.

As Hong Kong’s leading English-language newspaper, the South China Morning Post reports on issues and topics that are considered sensitive in mainland China.

“I think it will be interesting to see if the existing reporters and editorial staff would like to continue to stay. It’s worth watching,” said James Sung, a political analyst at City University of Hong Kong.

While Ma is known to be politically well-connected, others said the shift in ownership was not as drastic as some people were making out.

Alibaba’s executive vice-chairman, Joe Tsai, dismissed suggestions that Alibaba would compromise the paper’s editorial independence.