Tycoon Richard Li to sell HKEJ publisher to PCCW for US$9 million in asset reshuffle

Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li Tzar-kai is reshuffling his assets again, this time by selling his personal interest in the publisher of Hong Kong Economic Journal (HKEJ) to telecommunications group PCCW for HK$70 million (US$9 million).

PCCW, in which Li controls a 31.8 per cent stake, will buy the HKEJ’s publisher Clermont Media from an offshore trust company in which he is the settlor, according to a stock exchange filing on Tuesday.

Li expects to capitalise an undisclosed amount of his loans to the publisher in the transaction, ending his direct interest since he took control of the publisher in 2006. The original cost of the acquisition was stated as US$38.5 million, according to the PCCW filing.

The South China Morning Post, owned by Alibaba Group Holding, competes with HKEJ.

The price tag was based on a multiple of 0.69 times revenue, using the average ratio of 0.64 times from three unnamed Hong Kong-listed industry peers, the filing showed. That puts HKEJ’s 2023 revenue at about HK$100 million, based on its acquisition price and earnings multiple.