Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, is in talks to buy a stake in the publisher of Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post (SCMP), Bloomberg reported on Monday citing unidentified sources familiar with the matter.
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Discussions are said to have entered an advanced stage, though the size of the stake remains unknown. The investment would add to Alibaba and its affiliates’ growing media empire, the latest in a string of deals in news and advertising.
Fortune reports that Ma’s proposed acquisition follows in the footsteps of Jeff Bezos. (NASDAQ:AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos, who purchased Washington Post back in 2013 in an attempt revive the traditional print media. Robert Kuok, Malaysian billionaire, has maintained control of the paper since purchasing Rupert Murdoch’s stake in 1993.
Earlier in November, rumors circulated that Alibaba was considering investing in SCMP Group. The year prior, Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes bought a majority stake in the New Republic.
As if raking in over $14 billion on Singles’ Day, splashing out on online video giant Youku-Tudou and getting interviewed by Barack Obama simply wasn’t enough for one month’s work, Jack Ma is now planning a major foray into the media and entertainment industries. According to Hong Kong Free Press, at least “two dozen reporters, long-standing veterans and award-winning journalists” have left the paper in the past six months.
The South China Morning Post was once the world’s most profitable newspaper.
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While the 112-year old SCMP newspaper is its most visible asset, the group also has operations in businesses ranging from recruitment to magazines and contract printing. Quartz noted that In March 2013, Alibaba acquired eBusiness Review (a Harvard Business review type publication), in 2014, the company acquired a 40 percent stake in Huxiu (a leading technology and business blog).
