SINGAPORE Press Holdings (SPH) on Wednesday (Dec 1) night announced that its media business restructuring has been completed.

In a bourse filing, SPH said its entire media-related business, including 2,500 employees, have been transferred to SPH Media Trust (SMT), a company limited by guarantee (CLG), for a nominal consideration of S$1.

Following the completion, SPH will no longer have to meet the requirements imposed on newspaper companies under the Newspaper and Printing Presses Act in Singapore.

SPH said it has also effected the proposed adoption of the new constitution of the company, and the proposed conversion of management shares into ordinary shares, on Wednesday.

"The completion of the SPH media restructuring marks a major turning point for SPH. All of SPH's media business has been transferred to SPH Media Trust. The Trust will provide a solid foundation for high-quality journalism in Singapore," said SPH chairman Lee Boon Yang.

"I am confident that SPH Media Trust will fulfil its mission of serving as a trusted source of domestic and international news and I wish them every success as they embark on this exciting, meaningful and rewarding new chapter," he added.

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

The SMT’s interim chief executive Patrick Daniel said the aim was to arrest this “downward spiral” and grow the business to become financially sustainable, as reported by The Straits Times.

According to ST, Daniel said SPH’s media business had gone from making billion-dollar revenues to around S$400 million in recent times. The business also recorded first-ever losses of around S$40 million in each of the last two financial years, excluding government grants.

“If nothing is done, and SPH continues business as usual, the revenues will continue to drop; the losses will continue and will grow for sure. And there will be continued pressure to cut costs, cut products, cut staff, retrench,” said Daniel.

SPH had announced in May that it will be transferring its entire media-related business to a CLG.

This came as part of a strategic review announced in March amid structural changes that had severely disrupted the traditional business model, which relied on print advertising revenue.

During SPH’s extraordinary general meeting on Sept 10, 97.6 per cent of shareholder votes were in favour of the first resolution for the proposed restructuring of the media business. 

Shareholders also supported the second resolution for the conversion of SPH's management shares into ordinary shares, as well as for the adoption of a new constitution, with 97.5 per cent voting in favour.

SPH's shares closed up 1 Singapore cent or 0.4 per cent to S$2.34 on Wednesday, before the announcement.