ATV news staff may cease operation by December 30 if they are not paid, insider reveals
Major investor Wong Ching will wind up station if he doesn't find the right buyer, source says, as employees 'plan to shut down news operation'
ATV's major investor Wong Ching would rather wind up the troubled broadcaster than settle for a buyer that doesn't meet his demands, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told the Post yesterday.
And as of yesterday, senior management at ATV still had no confirmation from Wong about when he would issue November pay cheques - totalling about HK$15 million - owed to its 800 employees, the source said.
The station, which is struggling to find new buyers and ensure it gets a new free-to-air licence after November next year, is at risk of violating labour laws for a second time in three months. ATV failed to pay its staff their September wages for more than 20 days.
It has been reported that Wong has demanded more than HK$1 billion for the broadcaster - more than its estimated value.
The information from the source came as two other insiders warned that ATV could air its final news programme on December 30 or 31 if the management does not pay its staff.
And it highlights the station's dire financial predicament. The High Court on Monday last week ruled that two independent supervisors be appointed to ATV's board. Their first task would be to find an independent company to buy 10.75 per cent of ATV's shares from Panfair Holdings, a company controlled by the station's majority shareholder Wong Ben-koon.
Some 52 per cent of ATV's shares are controlled by Wong Ben-koon through Panfair and two other companies. Antenna, controlled by Taiwanese snack tycoon Tsai Eng-meng, holds 48 per cent.