Sing Tao Holdings will be suspended from trading today as it will confirm reports a consortium including American billionaire financier Sam Zell has offered to buy 50.04 per cent of the publisher from chairman Sally Aw Sian, sources say.
In their latest bid to take a stake in the publisher, Dublin-based China Enterprise Development Fund (CEDF) and Investment Co of China (ICC) have reportedly joined forces with Mr Zell in a HK$265 million deal.
The consortium was understood to have applied to the Securities and Futures Commission for an exemption on launching a compulsory general offer for the rest of Sing Tao's shares.
The offer valued Sing Tao at $1.25 a share, against a closing price of 90 cents on Friday.
CEDF and ICC, via CEDF's wholly owned subsidiary Hong Kong Sunrise Holdings, earlier offered to buy a combined 23 per cent of Sing Tao from Ms Aw for $115.81 million.
But a court hearing a bankruptcy case against Ms Aw ruled the deal could not go ahead.
Ms Aw is contesting the bankruptcy petition filed by a company closely linked to Hong Kong Tobacco chief Ho Ying-chie to whom she owes $274 million.
