A back-door listing may see the media group beat its Beijing rival to market
The Guangzhou Daily Group is planning a back-door listing in Shenzhen in a surprise gambit to become China's first publicly traded newspaper company.
If successful, the listing will upset the Beijing Youth Daily Group's ambitions to be the mainland's first newspaper to market and signal a new phase in the rapid commercialisation of the mainland's media industry.
According to market and investment banking sources, Guangzhou Daily will inject the advertising, printing and sales operations of 12 subsidiary publications into its 37 per cent-held Qingyuan Jianbei (Group), which is traded over the counter on the National Electronic Trading System.
After the injection, Guangzhou Daily will increase its stake in Qingyuan Jianbei to more than 50 per cent and relaunch the listing vehicle on Shenzhen's main board.
Publicly listed companies are not allowed to own the editorial operations of newspapers, magazines or broadcasters.
'It will be faster for Guangzhou Daily to go for a back-door listing rather than an initial public offering,' said a source close to the newspaper group.