Henderson confirms chairman Lee Shau-Kee’s son in talks with TVB

Bonnie Ngan Suet-fong from Henderson Land said the younger Lee, who is vice-chairman of the developer, is working on the deal with representatives of Shaw Brothers, TVB's biggest stakeholder.
But the spokeswoman refuted reports that an agreement has been reached.

TVB has also confirmed the talks but said discussions were still at an early stage.

The Lee family also controls the city's main piped gas utility and the elder Lee, with an estimated wealth of US$18.5 billion, is ranked as the second richest man by Forbes magazine, following Cheung Kong chairman Li Ka-shing.

TVB was founded by Sir Run Run Shaw in 1967 after his Shaw Brothers became a leading local film producer. In October 2008, he abandoned talks to sell his stake in TVB because of the global recession, the broadcaster said in a filing at the time.

TVB is one of the world's biggest producers of Chinese- language films, with distribution in more than 30 countries, according to its website.

The news also created much buzz in the rest of China, because TVB's drama series have been gaining huge popularity across the country, especially in the 1980s and 1990s, when the mainland itself did not have a mature TV industry.

The Beijing-based China News Agency reported today that the younger Lee is also looking for potential partners among mainland tycoons to join the deal.

Earlier reports said Shanghai Media Group, one of the largest media groups in China, also held talks with TVB.

Earlier this month, Stephen Chan Chi-wan, the ex-GM of TVB, was officially charged for alleged corruption and conspiracy by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).