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NewsCompanies & marketsShare tips & tacticsCompanies in the newsBuy/sell sharesFund tipsPower portfolioDirector dealingsMarket diaryBroker viewsRegulatory news serviceFund supermarketCompany A-ZInvesting guidesMessage boardsFundsPower portfolioMarket data InvestingMortgages & homesSaving & bankingCredit cards & loansDealing with debtBargains & rip-offsBroadband & phonesInsurancePensionsSmall businessTax & willsGuidesAsk an expertMessage boardsMoney blogThis is Not WorkTools & calculatorsCampaignsFinancial HealthcheckVideoDeal finders Compare & buy... Malaysian tycoon Ananda Krishnan didn't amass a £3bn fortune by betting on industries that were heading for extinction. The Yorkshire Evening Post owner was singularly unprepared for the ravages of the credit crunch. The acquisitions binge of 2005 and 2006 that brought in Ireland's Leinster Leader and the Scotsman pushed its debt pile over the £700m mark. When the economy started to weaken last summer, spending on jobs and house ads went into freefall, forcing Johnston Press into a £212m emergency rights issue. Krishnan seized the moment, swapping an £86m cash injection for a 20% stake. In a clear sign that the dynamics of the 250-year-old company had changed forever, the founding Johnston family saw its holding halved to under 10%. As a south-east Asian plutocrat with interests spanning gambling, property, hotels, pay-TV and telecoms, he was a very unlikely saviour of an obscure media group like Johnston Press. After all, Krishnan's only previous claim to fame, on these shores at least, was helping Bob Geldof to organise Live Aid in 1985. Earlier this year, he tabled a bid for Virgin Radio, which was eventually bought by the owner of the Times of India. Krishnan's idea is to bulk up Johnston Press's presence, making its websites the place its readers go for local information. Publishers of regional newspapers have all struggled to cope with the monumental change in the advertising industry over the past few years. More people are selling unwanted goods on websites like Gumtree, while big advertisers are handing over their cash to the likes of Yahoo!. As a result, media companies have become the lepers of the stock market. Krishnan is all the more intriguing for the jealousy with which he guards his privacy. Born in Kuala Lumpur in 1938, his Sri Lankan origins put him right at the bottom of Malaysia's rigid social order. However, he excelled at school and won a scholarship to the University of Melbourne, before taking an MBA at Harvard. Krishnan started his working life as an oil trader and made his first fortune by cutting deals with a raft of state energy companies in south-east Asia in the 1970s. A move into property saw him help build the Petrobras Twin Towers in the Malaysian capital, then the tallest building in the world. Most of his fortune comes from Maxis, Malaysia's biggest mobile phone group. He recently sold his majority stake in the Excel exhibitions centre in London's Docklands for a reported £120m profit. The world of classified ads and local news is poles apart from what Krishnan has become accustomed to. There's no doubt that Johnston Press is an odd place for a budding media mogul. But Krishnan knows all about building empires from scratch. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts? Market dataLatest gold priceThe value of gold has soared in the past decade. See the full charts. Advice from the archivesInvesting in foodFood prices are booming. See our explanation of the best ways to invest. News and analysisWhat next for house prices?The latest news and property market predictions, including the house price calculators. Search for independent financial advisers in your area... This is cache, read story here
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