(Yicai Global) April 19 -- Shares of Phoenix Television’s owner skyrocketed after it said founder Liu Changle plans to sell almost all of his stake in the Hong Kong broadcaster to Bauhinia Culture Holdings and Shun Tak Holdings in deals worth HKD1.15 billion (USD148 million).

Shares of Phoenix Media Investment [HKG:2008] jumped as much as 36 percent today before closing almost 22 percent higher at HKD0.95 (12 US cents).

Liu, who is also Phoenix Media’s chairman, has agreed to sell 37.93 percent, almost all of his 38.08 percent stake, the 25-year-old media group said late yesterday. Today’s Asia, wholly owned by Liu, signed a deal on April 16 to sell about 1.9 billion shares in Phoenix Media, or 37.93 percent of its overall stock.

Buying 1.05 billion shares, or 21 percent, Bauhinia Culture is set to become Phoenix Media’s second-largest investor. Shun Tak Holdings, whose managing director is Pansy Ho, daughter of tycoon Stanley Ho, will buy the remaining 845 million shares, or 16.93 percent, via affiliate Common Sense for HKD0.61 each, the statement said.

Liu’s near complete exit from Phoenix Media may be related to a financial scandal that hit FengJR, or Phoenix Finance, an affiliated peer-to-peer platform under the media group.

The platform’s online lending products defaulted on debt worth CNY9.6 billion (USD1.5 billion), involving a total of 70,000 lenders, last September. The actual controller of FengJR, founded in 2014, is He Xin, Liu’s son-in-law.

Sun Yusheng, former deputy editor-in-chief of China Central Television, was appointed executive vice president of Phoenix Media in February, taking charge of program content. Later that month, Xu Wei, a former director of the Shanghai government’s information office, replaced Liu as chief executive at Phoenix Television.

Editor: Peter Thomas