CReATION: Tom.com acquires 50% stake in Ming Pao publication

<p>Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing's group of companies has made an </p><p>acquisition into print media through Internet company Tom.com, which </p><p>acquired a 50 per cent stake in Ming Pao's Chinese weekly magazine </p><p>Yazghou Zhoukan as part of its cross-media strategy to boost ad </p><p>revenue. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Yazhou Zhoukan is a Chinese-language current events weekly magazine, </p><p>produced in print with a limited online version on Ming Pao's website, </p><p>www.mingpao.com. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Tom.com CEO and executive director Sing Wang said the acquisition was </p><p>geared at boosting the company's portfolio of offerings to advertisers </p><p>to help generate advertising revenue. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The addition of a prestigious print media asset is a perfect fit within </p><p>our cross-media strategy. It will bring about new value creation with </p><p>our existing complementary suites of both online and offline media </p><p>assets," Mr Wang said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He added the investment would allow the company to provide an </p><p>advertising package covering different channels and media platforms, </p><p>including online, print, outdoor, events and television. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The investment will also strengthen Tom.com's print media profile and </p><p>boost our advertising armoury, allowing us to offer an attractive </p><p>'one-stop' package covering the entire value chain of different media </p><p>platforms including online, print, outdoor, events and television." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, the acquisition has raised questions of Cheung Kong Holdings' </p><p>interest in print media. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Cheung Kong owns a stake in ITC Corp, the parent company of China </p><p>Strategic, which earlier announced the acquisition of Sing Pao. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Cheung Kong and Hutchison Whampoa also own Metro Radio. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Meanwhile, Tom.com is looking to leverage on Yazhou Zhoukan's content to </p><p>supplement its own. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The company is to play an active role in improving the business IT and </p><p>other business-oriented content of the magazine's printed version. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The magazine's online content is also to be developed to make it an </p><p>"authoritative voice, offering global multi-media news and current </p><p>affairs, business IT research services and corporate rating </p><p>services". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The magazine, which was established in 1987, has a circulation of </p><p>100,000 in Hong Kong, Taiwan, mainland China and Southeast Asia. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Both Tom.com and Yazhou Zhoukan stressed the editorial team and </p><p>editorial independence would "remain unchanged". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Meanwhile, Yazhou Zhoukan is expected to benefit from the acquisition </p><p>through expanded marketing and distribution functions, as well an </p><p>increased subscriber base in the region, particularly in mainland </p><p>China. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Yazhou Zhoukan, which translates to "Asiaweek" in Mandarin, was </p><p>originally produced as a Chinese-language edition of the Time-Warner </p><p>publication. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>It covers Greater China, international and regional news. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Tom.com had earlier reported HKdollars 163 million in losses in the </p><p>three months to September 30, fueled by advertising, promotional and Web </p><p>development expenditure. The company has made several announcements of </p><p>acquisitions in recent months. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>