Screenshots

Today, Singapore Business Times followed up with its earlier stories by saying that the New Straits Times Press (NSTP) wanted to shed an albatross that has been losing money since 1999, the Malay Mail -- only if it remains in Malay hands.

The business sheets' KL-based correspondent S. Jayasankaran reported today that, in a compromise move, the NSTP has agreed to sell the financially ailing Malay Mail to a group comprising Media Prima and former Daim's Boy, businessman Ibrahim Mohamad Nor for RM5 million.

The paper said the compromised arrangement will preempt potential political ripples as the newspaper will remain in ethnic Malay hands.

Both NSTP and Media Prima are ultimately controlled by parties linked to the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), Malaysia's dominant political party which is headed by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Business Times reported.

Archive not for sale

The change in ownership is said to become effective by January 1, 2008. Both parties -- Media Prima and Ibrahim -- will hold equal stakes in The Malay Mail's holding company.

Other conditions of the sale include: ( 1 ) The paper will continue to be printed by NSTP for a fee; and ( 2 ) NSTP will continue to own teh archives of the 111-year-old paper.

Earlier, it was reported that Ibrahim had teamed up with Tong Kooi Ong, who owns The Edge Financial Daily and free-paper theSun newspaper through listed Nexnews, to bid for The Malay Mail in October.

The duo were said to have offered RM5 million for the 11-year-old daily paper and a further RM3 million for its archives.

With the only-Malay ownership decision, Tong is left in the cold.

Ibrahim co-owns Blu Inc with Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) as a strategic investor. The company prints several regional lifestyle magazines including Her World, Female and Seventeen.