ATV Stake Sale Talks End on Price Qualms, Paper Says (Correct)
By Cathy Chan
(Corrects to note Liu Changle is the current chairman of
Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings Ltd.)
Hong Kong, July 27 (Bloomberg) -- Asia Television Ltd.
shareholders failed to sell stakes in one of Hong Kong's two
terrestrial broadcasters after asking too high a price, Hong Kong Economic Times reported, citing unidentified bankers.
Acting in concert, Feng Xiao-ping, chief executive of ATV,
Liu Changle, chairman of Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings Ltd., and other major shareholders were in talks to sell their stakes to China-backed investors, the paper said. Together they control about 67.5 percent of the broadcaster.
The shareholders' asking price, as high as HK$6 billion
($769.3 million), scared potential investors and contributed to a termination of the talks, the paper said. The company declined to comment, the report said.
ATV, the perpetual also-ran of Hong Kong's two free-to-air
broadcasters, said earlier it planned to sell HK$1.5 billion in shares to the public as soon as this year. The company expects sales to China will exceed HK$200 million this year, rising from more than HK$140 million last year.
(Hong Kong Economic Times reported, 27-7, P.4) |
