The Motibhai Group is the new owner of The Fiji Times Limited, ending month of speculations on the buyer of the 141-year-old company.
The announcement was made by News Limited which did not disclose the sale amount.
The sale is subject to final regulatory approval with the expected closing date for sale on September 22.
“This purchase expresses our confidence in the future of Fiji. We will ensure that The Fiji Times will operate as an independent unit within the Motibhai Group,” chairman and chief executive of the Motibhai Group, Mahendra Patel said.
Mr Patel said his group had 80 years of business history in Fiji and expanded to new areas of business such as Fiji Foods and Prouds Stores.
“The Fiji Times will be no exception,” he said.
“We will take The Fiji Times to a new level as we progress. We will ensure that The Fiji Times continues to be the preferred daily newspaper by the vast majority of Fiji’s population and live by the adage “the day is not complete until you have read The Fiji Times,” Mr Patel said.
News Limited’s chairman and chief executive John Hartigan said the sale to the group represented the best possible outcome for the staff, advertisers and readers of the The Fiji Times.
The Media Decree gave News Limited until September 28 to divest at least 90 per cent of it’s interest in the The Fiji Times, the country’s leading newspaper group.
“We are reluctant sellers of The Fiji Times but I’am delighted that we have been able to find a buyer who will take over the business as a going concern, respect its heritage and invest in its future,” Mr Hartigan said.
“I have known Mahendra Patel for many years. His past contribution as a director of The Fiji Times has been valuable. I’am therefore very pleased that the Motibhai Group has decided to purchase the business.
Motibhai will be very good custodians of the newspaper and as shareholders they will be committed to the future of The Fiji Times.
I particularly want to thank the directors and staff of The Fiji Times for their hard work and loyalty and for their personal as well as professional commitment to the organisation especially during the many changes and challenges of the recent years.
Motibhai is very fortunate to be inheriting such a dedicated and talented workforce,” Mr Hartigan said.
This report was published in The Fiji Times on March 16 2010.