Jeffrey Koo removed as leader of Next Media buyout consortium
Jeffrey Koo replaced as leader of group, while new party enters buyout of print and TV firm
Next Media, a company controlled by Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, has disclosed more details of the recently agreed sale of the company's Taiwan print and TV businesses to a group of Taiwanese businessmen, after changes in the composition of the consortium.
The sale for NT$17.5 billion (HK$4.66 billion) would net Next a gain of HK$2.28 billion, said the Hong Kong-listed media firm.
Next Media "will no longer be engaged in the print business, as well as television programmes and the sale of advertising in its television operation in Taiwan. The disposal allows the company to focus on profitable operations," Next said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
Next's net loss nearly tripled to HK$928.39 million in the six months ended September 30 from a year earlier, mainly due to its television business in Taiwan.
Wang Wen-yun, chairman of Formosa Plastics Group, will lead the buyout with the biggest stake of 34 per cent in the TV and print assets, Next said yesterday.
Previously, the leader of the buyout was Jeffrey Koo Junior, chairman of Chinatrust Charity Foundation. Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission had objected to Koo leading the consortium because of the island's rule that bars financial institutions from investing in the media.