Jimmy Lai Chee-ying was expected to complete the sale of Next Media's print and television holdings in Taiwan last night, following the signing of a definite agreement with the buying consortium at a hotel in Macau.
Lai's assistant, Mark Simon, said late last night the two sides were still ironing out the details of the deal.
Next Media, of which Lai is the chairman and controlling shareholder, sold those assets to a group of Taiwanese buyers for NT$17.5 billion (HK$4.6 billion) in cash.
The share price of Next Media, which publishes the Chinese-language Apple Daily in Hong Kong, yesterday rose 4.61 per cent to finish at HK$1.59, as investors anticipated the deal being closed.
The transaction is subject to the approval of Taiwanese regulators.
The parties had scheduled to complete their deal on November 17 but it was delayed because the buying group wanted to add another investor to meet regulatory requirements in Taiwan.