日期： 1986年11月7日
原文： Financial Times
Mr Rupert Murdoch, the Australian-born media entrepreneur whose newspaper and broadcasting interests span Australia, the US and the UK, is expected to announce today the acquisition of a controlling stake in Hong Kong's South China Morning Post in a deal that is unlikely to give him much change out of HK dollars 1 bn (US dollars 128.2 m).
The South China Morning Post (SCMP), reputed to be one of the most profitable newspapers in the world, is currently controlled by the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (48 per cent), Hutchison Whampoa, the trading group (25 per cent), and Dow-Jones, the US media group (19 per cent).
Mr Murdoch is expected to emerge from the deal with a shareholding equal to that of the other three main shareholders combined - just under 40 per cent - with most of his holding coming from Hutchison and Hongkong Bank.
The acquisition raises questions about Mr Murdoch's business strategy in Asia, but equally important, it raises questions about the intentions of Mr Li Ka-shing, who controls Hutchison, and recently acquired a 4.99 per cent stake in Pearson of the UK, whose interests include the Financial Times.
Dealing in SCMP shares will be suspended on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange this morning at the company's request, and a formal announcement about the deal is expected later in the day.
In what is likely to be a two-phase transaction, Mr Murdoch is understood to be paying an average in the region of HK dollars 75 per SCMP share - which values the group at about HK dollars 2.4 bn.
There has been speculation about a takeover of the SCMP for many months. In autumn last year, the Financial Times held discussions on a possible purchase, but these floundered when Hongkong Bank rejected an offer of HK dollars 65 a share.
The newspaper group earned profits after tax in the year to June 30 1986 of HK dollars 165 m. Apart from publishing the South China Morning Post newspaper, Hong Kong's leading English-language newspaper, and the Far Eastern Economic Review, the weekly magazine, it has interests spanning commercial printing, book distribution and film setting.
Of greatest interest to Mr Murdoch, however, will be the completion in January 1987 of new printing presses that will be able to complete the newspaper's existing daily print run, averaging 62,000 in an hour and 10 minutes.
The disposal by Li Ka-shing of a substantial proportion of his holding in the SCMP is expected to fuel speculation over his corporate plans.
He is seen by many as Hong Kong's most successful entrepreneur, controlling Hutchison Whampoa, Hongkong Electric, the utility group, and a number of smaller companies, through his holding company Cheung Kong. These three main groups together are capitalised in the Hong Kong Stock Market at about HK dollars 42 bn - about 15 per cent of Hong Kong's total market capitalisation.
The fact that he has in recent months been accumulating substantial funds - now close to HK dollars 4 bn - by means of disposals and placements has convinced many analysts that a takeover is being hatched.
He recently attracted international attention when he acquired through Hutchison a 4.99 per cent holding in Pearson at a cost of about HK dollars 550 m. A signal that he was interested in building up his stake has been received frostily by Pearson, although discussions are currently in progress on areas of possible collaboration between Pearson and Hutchison.
Hongkong Bank's decision to sell shares to Mr Murdoch comes after more than a year of flat denials that it is willing to consider any offer.
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