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Alibaba to Buy South China Morning Post for $266 Million

Bloomberg News
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  • Founder Jack Ma to follow Bezos in buying storied masthead
  • Alibaba pledges to ensure editorial freedom, scrap pay wall

Alibaba to Buy South China Morning Post for $266M

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., the e-commerce giant headed by billionaire Jack Ma, agreed to buy Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post and other affiliated media assets for HK$2.06 billion ($266 million).

The deal includes the century-old newspaper, outdoor advertising, digital assets and magazines, SCMP Group Ltd. said in a filing Monday. Alibaba last week said it will scrap the publication’s Internet pay wall and that editorial decisions will be made “in the newsroom, not in the corporate boardroom.”