A NUMBER of enquiries have been received from parties interested in purchasing Fiji Times Limited, according to Jenny Seeto - the PricewaterhouseCoopers project leader for the sale of the newspaper company.
Mrs Seeto told the Fiji Times yesterday that the identities of those interested could not be divulged because of confidentiality reasons.
She said a process was currently under way in which calls for expressions of interest had been put out, which would follow through to a bidding process.
When asked what would happen if no one put in an offer to buy Fiji Times Ltd, Mrs Seeto said that would be a decision for News Ltd to make.
But she said "based on interests received so far, it is extremely unlikely that no one will put in an offer to buy Fiji Times Ltd. Fiji Times is a very successful and profitable business with an excellent long-term outlook".
She said normally a sale process for a business could take up to six to 12 months to complete "provided that the sales process flows smoothly and issues are resolved quickly to enable a sale value to be negotiated and agreed upon. In Fiji, the timing is also dependent on regulatory clearances and approvals".
Asked whether she would seek a time extension if she was not able to complete the process by the deadline, Mrs Seeto said they were optimistic the sale would be completed within the time frame available.
"Should for some reason the process not progress as anticipated, we will consider the options available to us and to News Ltd," she said.
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