News Limited has hired PricewaterhouseCoopers to value The Fiji Times for a possible sale, The Australian reported yesterday. This move comes after the June 28 order from Fiji's government that Rupert Murdoch's company must sell the publication to a local or close it entirely.

News Ltd. does not want to sell the newspaper; but because the Fijian government is ordering the sale, PwC will step in to value the business and then give advise on potential buyers. Heading the valuation team will be Jenny Seeto, based in Fiji.

"The environment is difficult but given the decree is clearly designed to force us to sell and pull out of Fiji within three months, we need to actively investigate all our options," John Hartigan, chairman and CEO of News Ltd., told The Australian.

Under the Media Industry Development Decree that went into effect June 28, media outlets must be 90 percent owned by Fijian citizens that reside in the country. Since 2006, when Fijian leader Frank Bainimarama led a military coup, the media has been struggling as the government has tightened controls and censorship.

When the decree was announced, Sayed-Khaiyum described Murdoch's newspaper as "the purveyor of negativity, at least for the past three years," recalled the website Voxy.co.nz.