Sina.Com, Sun TV in Merger Deal

Chinese Internet portal Sina.com and Hong Kong-based Sun Television Cybernetworks Holdings Ltd. have agreed to merge and are expected to announce a deal later on Tuesday, the Hong Kong iMail newspaper reported, citing unidentified sources.

In Beijing, Sina President Wang Yan said he had no comment. Sina is based in Silicon Valley and Beijing.

Sun Executive Chairman Bruno Wu had no comment on the Sina merger report.

Shares in Sun, which buys and repackages documentaries and other fare for broadcast in China, were suspended on Monday pending announcement of a transaction involving the issue of shares in the firm.

It was not clear from the report which firm would be the acquirer in such a deal, nor were any terms cited.

China's three Nasdaq-listed portal firms have been plagued by scant advertising revenue, and many observers have said consolidation is essential.

All three -- the other two are NetEase.com Inc and Sohu.com Inc -- have been the subject of deal rumors.

Last month Sina announced it would cut 80 jobs in a cost-saving move to pare its headcount to 450.

Also last month Sina posted a narrowing net loss for its fourth fiscal quarter of US$8.2 million on revenue of US$5.8 million. The revenue figure marked a slight quarter-on-quarter decline for the firm.

Sina was also embroiled in a public dispute over the exit of its former chief Wang Zhidong, who complained that he was dumped in an illegal boardroom putsch. Neither side has announced a resolution over Wang's majority stake in the Chinese firm that operates the mainland portal for Sina.

One analyst who declined to be identified said such a deal would be positive for Sina, which has sought to develop an offline business to go with its Internet operation.

Shares in Sina were unchanged on Monday at US$1.32, far off a 52-week high of US$22 and just above a low of US$1.22. Sun's shares ended at HK$0.09 on Friday, and have lost more than 44 per cent in the last three months.






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