Chinese companies take stake in S. Africa papers

China's largest private-equity fund, the China-Africa Development Fund, is taking a 20% stake in the group of leading South African newspapers, including the Cape Times and The Star, being sold by Ireland's Independent News and Media plc. It will hold the stake jointly with China International Television Corporation, the international distribution arm of China's state broadcaster CCTV. South Africa's state-owned Public Investment Corp. is taking a 25% stake and the remaining 55% will be controlled by Cape Town businessman Iqbal Surve's Sekunjalo Investment Holdings. The China-Africa Development Fund is backed by the state-owned China Development Bank.