Hong Kong’s Next Media announced late on the 19th that it had entered into a “non-legally binding” memorandum of understanding with an “independent third party” on the same day, proposing to sell all shares of its subsidiaries, including Taiwan’s Apple Daily. The announcement was seen as a sale of Taiwan Apple Daily.
Central News Agency reporters tried to contact Taiwan Apple Daily President Chen Yu-hsin as of 10 p.m., but were unable to get a response.
According to the provisions of the Mass Dismissal Labor Protection Act, Apple Daily dismissed 150 people within 60 days or dismissed more than 80 people on a single day to meet the definition of mass dismissal, which is a normal and legal situation.
Hong Kong Apple Daily reported that One Media CEO Zhang Jianhong pointed out that the discussion was “very preliminary” and that at this stage “only the other side has expressed its willingness”. But the management promised that if there are further discussions in the future, in addition to considering the price, the rights and interests of all employees of Taiwan Apple Daily will also be given top priority.
According to the report, Next Media’s announcement did not mention the identity of the buyer or the price of the transaction, except that it was for Amazing Sino International Limited, whose assets include Next Media Group’s Taiwan Apple Daily business and a building in Taiwan. According to Bloomberg, Amazing Sino International Limited is a media communications company based in Hong Kong.
But Next Media stressed that the two sides have not yet entered into a “legally binding” agreement for the deal. The final terms of the formal agreement, which is subject to further negotiations between the contracting parties, have not yet been finalized and may therefore “deviate” from the MOU.
Next Media noted that the “proposed” transaction aims to “rationalize resources and focus on profitable businesses, thereby enhancing overall business performance.
In the process of finding a new business model and the impact of the epidemic, it has incurred certain losses in its accounts, but with the efforts of its management and colleagues, the losses are being reduced, said Zhang Jianhong, adding that Taiwan’s Apple Daily is “an important asset of the group. The management promised to continue its efforts to improve the newspaper’s operations.
Next Media previously announced that the Group’s Taiwan division reported revenue of HK$102 million from April to September 2020, down 37.7% from the same period in 2019. During the same period, the average daily net circulation of Taiwan Apple Daily was 82,600, down from 101,700 for the same period in 2019.
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