Alibaba’s Jack Ma in talks to buy Hong Kong newspaper

Alibaba Group Holding founder Jack Ma Yun is reported to be in talks to buy a stake in the publisher of the South China Morning Post, in what may make him the latest internet industry tycoon to pursue the revival of a traditional newspaper.

Discussions are at an advanced stage, and a signing ceremony will be announced soon, according to a Bloomberg report citing sources.

Once the world's most profitable newspaper, the Hong Kong-based SCMP has tracked other mastheads with falling earnings and shrinking circulation as readers shift online. Control of the English-language broadsheet has been unchanged since Rupert Murdoch sold most of his stake to Malaysian billionaire Robert Kuok Hock Nien in 1993.

When asked whether he is interested in buying the SCMP, Ma said this month that he is "watching a lot of companies right now".

Ma would be following in the footsteps of Amazon.com Inc's Jeff Bezos who bought the Washington Post in 2013 among internet tycoons snapping up storied brands at a time print media struggles to compete with web-based competitors for advertising.

Chris Hughes, one of the co-founders of Facebook Inc, bought a majority stake in the New Republic magazine three years ago

SCMP Group (0583), which has reported three years of profit declines, has been suspended from trading since February 2013, after the company failed to have at least 25 per cent of shares held by minority investors, the minimum proportion required for a company to trade its shares in Hong Kong.

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.

China Daily cited rumours earlier this month that Alibaba was in talks to invest in the SCMP Group.