Alibaba founder Jack Ma is said to be in talks to buy a stake in Hong Kong’s leading English-language daily newspaper, the South China Morning Post.
Bloomberg reported the talks Monday, citing two people familiar with the matter. A senior person within the company confirmed the talks to CNNMoney.
Both Alibaba and SCMP Group declined to comment.
If the deal goes through, Ma would be following a growing group of Internet tycoons investing in big media brands.
In 2013, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos purchased the Washington Post for $250 million. The year prior, Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes bought a majority stake in the New Republic.
The SCMP announced earlier this month that editor-in-chief Wang Xiangwei, who has held the role since 2012, will be stepping down at the end of the year. Wang will be succeeded by his deputy, Tammy Tam, according to a company announcement.
The newspaper group has seen revenues drop for the past three years, and print circulation has also dipped.
Ma’s company, Alibaba, has been increasingly active in leading various media and entertainment investments.
The Chinese firm recently purchased Youku Tudou — China’s answer to YouTube — for $3.6 billion, along with other related digital investments in companies including Snapchat.