HONG KONG, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Minority shareholders on Friday approved the privatization of Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong) Limited, the business conglomerate that has dominated the Hong Kong movie and media industries over the past decades.

    The privatization deal was supported by about 99.15 percent of the minority shareholders at a special meeting of shareholders in Hong Kong, thanks to the "generous" price offered by co-founder and majority shareholder Sir Run Run Shaw.

    Through his investment arm Shaw Holdings Inc., Shaw offered to buy 25 percent of the stakes at 13.35 HK dollars a share, which was 64 percent higher than the share price at the time of trading suspension prior to the announcement of the scheme.

    The buyout was worth 1.33 billion HK dollars (170.5 million U.S. dollars).

    Shaw currently holds 74.92 percent of Shaw Brothers shares.

    Sir Run Run Shaw co-founded the Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong) Limited in 1958 and gradually established itself as the leading player in Hong Kong's movie industry. It released hundreds of movies throughout the decades until the mid 1980s, when the company decided to stop producing movies. Shaw Brothers was listed in 1971.

    Shaw Brothers currently holds 26 percent stake in TVB, or Television Broadcasts Limited, one of the leading producer- distributor of Chinese programs. TVB now still has its own team of actors and actresses.

    Sir Run Run Shaw, born in 1907, is a well-known philanthropist.