Completion of the acquisition is scheduled to take place in early July 2013, and will bring into the SCMP Group additional well-established titles to expand its portfolio in Hong Kong. The SCMP Group’s flagship title, South China Morning Post, is the city’s leading English language newspaper and is now celebrating its 110th anniversary.
The move follows SCMP Group’s acquisition last year of the Hong Kong Chinese language edition of Elle from Hearst Corporation, which gave a further boost to the existing market leading portfolio of Chinese language women’s magazines.
Asia City’s dominant title, HK Magazine, has been established in Hong Kong since 1991, and is the leading English language leisure and lifestyle free distribution magazine in the city. The List is an English language free distribution pocket sized city guide and directory. Where Hong Kong and Where Chinese 玩 are handy tourist information guides. Other products in the Asia City portfolio include the HK Magazine website, The List website, HK Magazine Tablet app and the Happy Hour Finder app.
SCMP Group advised that the Hong Kong business of Asia City will continue to manage its titles and businesses independently, with the added benefit of larger group operational expertise, synergies and resources. A board of directors comprising a number of SCMP Group senior executives has been appointed to support and oversee the overall business direction.
Mr Robin Hu, SCMP Group’s Chief Executive Officer remarked, “This move is a very natural fit for our two companies. We have a lot of common ground in our target audiences and advertisers, and Asia City’s Hong Kong portfolio helps our group to broaden our base and enhance our lifestyle offerings. We are excited to bring this passionate and energetic team into our family, and look forward to learning from each other.”
Mr Greg Crandall, who has been with Asia City Media Group for over 10 years, will continue in his position as Country Manager. Mr Crandall remarked, “We are very excited about joining the SCMP Group. We are a fast and innovative team with great brands and an extremely loyal readership. This acquisition gives our company an even stronger position to grow and expand as we leverage the strength and resources of the SCMP.”
About SCMP Group Ltd and South China Morning Post
SCMP Group Limited (SEHK: 583) is a leading newspaper and magazine publisher in Asia. Its flagship publication, South China Morning Post, is Hong Kong’s internationally recognised English language newspaper and has the city’s most affluent and influential readership.
First published in 1903, the newspaper has developed an enviable reputation for authoritative, influential and independent reporting on Hong Kong, China and the rest of Asia. Available in print, iPad™ and online through scmp.com and e-reader editions, South China Morning Post reaches a global audience with daily breaking news, analysis and opinion, multimedia articles and interactive forums. The South China Morning Post received 64 awards in 2012 for excellence in editorial, marketing and technical capability. Other titles in the Group include the Sunday Morning Post, the Chinese editions of Cosmopolitan, Harper’s BAZAAR, ELLE and CosmoGirl! magazines.
For more information, please visit us at www.scmpgroup.com.
For further information please contact:
communications@scmp.com
About Asia City Media Group Ltd and HK Magazine
Asia City Publishing Group was established in Hong Kong in 1991 and is one of the region’s largest lifestyle media companies with additional operations in Singapore, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur.
The group also publishes HK Magazine, The List, I-S Magazine, BK Magazine, WHERE Hong Kong, WHERE Chinese 玩, WHERE Singapore, WHERE Thailand and WHERE Guestbooks.
HK Magazine is Hong Kong’s leading lifestyle magazine. In 2011 HK Magazine was voted Lifestyle Magazine of the Year by Marketing Interactive, Marketing Magazine. Over the past two decades, HK Magazine has built a loyal and high-end reader demographic, by providing a trusted source of information for city lifestyle news and views, and maintaining a strong city presence through its strategic print distribution locations and online channels. HK Magazine‘s free tablet app is available on iTunes Store and Google Play Store and has recently been awarded the Asian Publishing Awards Best Publishing App.