HONG KONG -- Tom Group plans to pay HK$1.7 billion (US$217.9 million) in an all-cash buyout offer for shares in the NASDAQ-listed subsidiary Tom Online that it doesn't already own.

Parent Tom Group, which is controlled by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, Asia's richest man, now owns 66 % of Tom Online. The group said it would pay HK1.52 (19 U.S. cents) each for the remaining 1.03 billion shares of the Nasdaq-traded Chinese Internet group.

That price is a 33 % premium over the stock's last closing price of HK$1.14 (15 U.S. cents) before trading was suspended on March 5. The group plans to finance the deal by borrowing from financial institutions.

If the deal is approved by shareholders--a meeting will be held in the Cayman Islands where Tom Online is registered--Tom Online will be delisted from Hong Kong's Growth Enterprise Market and the Nasdaq.

Tom Online shares jumped 29 % on Hong Kong's second board on Monday on the news, while parent Tom Group gained 5.4 %.

Some analysts have said that the delisting of Tom Online could be because of financial pressure after the merger with eBay China in December 2006.

eBay contributed $40 million for a 49% stake in the site, while Tom Online has a 51% stake and contributed $20 million.

Tom Online is also the wireless and Internet distribution partner for Warner Bros. Online in China. The partnership, set up in 2005, included the launch of the Warner Bros. Studios site in China, which was the first to deliver official studio content to Chinese fans via Internet and wireless platforms, including "Bugs Bunny" as well as Harry Potter.

The subsidiary will announce its annual results Thursday.