In a dramatic move today, tycoon Vincent Tan’s Berjaya Corporation announced that it had bought 35.7% of Nexnews - the company that owns free daily The Sun and financial weekly The Edge.

According to a statement to Bursa Malaysia, banker-turned-businessman Tong Kooi Ong - Tan’s partner in Nexnews - has agreed to sell all his shares in the company for RM139.2 million.

"The proposals will result in Nexnews becoming a 54.59% owned subsidiary company of Berjaya Corporation," said the statement.

The sale of Tong’s entire stake in Nexnews ended five years of partnership between the duo.

In 2003, the two businessmen used Nexnews as the vehicle to consolidate two of their companies - Tong’s The Edge Communications Sdn Bhd and Tan’s Sun Media Corporation Sdn Bhd, both publishers of The Edge and The Sun respectively.

Soon after, Tong in a bold business decision turned The Sun into a free newspaper, increasing its daily circulation to 265,000 copies in 2006.

“Out of this, 215,000 copies are distributed in the Klang Valley, solidifying The Sun as the No1 English daily in the nation’s top consumer region,” said Berjaya’s statement today.

“Whilst The Edge , a business and investment weekly, is the most authoritative business weekly in the country with an audited circulation of about 23,000 in June 2006.”

In recent years, The Sun has given its two major rivals - The Star and New Straits Times - a run for their money not only in terms of circulation but also in taking on a more independent editorial stand in its coverage of news.

Unfavourable reports

Observers believe that the buy-out could be the result of top government leaders being vexed by some of the daily’s unfavourable reports.

The Sun , which was bankrolled by Tan in 1993, hit dire straits after running losses up to RM200 million over the past 15 years.

This led the tycoon to bring in Tong, who have successfully launched The Edge financial weekly, to help revive the ailing newspaper.

Tong, given a free hand by Tan to run the newspaper, helped to sharply stem the financial bleeding.

However, with Tan back in control of The Sun , political pundits expect the newspaper to again toe the government’s line in a country where the media is strictly regulated.