Alibaba to pay $266 million for Hong Kong`s SCMP newspaper

Hong Kong: Chinese Internet giant Alibaba will pay HK$2.06 billion (US$265.8 million) for Hong Kong`s South China Morning Post, the newspaper said in a statement to the city`s stock exchange.

Alibaba "has agreed to purchase the media business of the (SCMP) Group for a cash consideration of HK$2,060,600,000," the statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange said.

The acquisition, announced on Friday, comes at a time when concern over press freedom in Hong Kong is growing after attacks on journalists, reports of pressure on editorial staff from authorities and increasing self-censorship.

The once globally renowned English-language paper was founded in 1903 and has long given international readers an insider`s perspective on Hong Kong and the mainland, but profits and sales have in recent years been hit by an industry-wide decline.

Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch bought the SCMP in 1987, taking it private.

In 1993 Malaysia tycoon Robert Kuok`s Kerry Media bought a controlling interest, prompting an editorial shift towards Beijing.