“The deal gives Nikkei access to the Financial Times Newspaper, FT.com, How To Spend It, FT Labs, FTChinese, The Confidentials and Financial Publishing (including The Banker, Investors Chronicle, MandateWire, Money-Media, Medley Global Advisors and more)”, according to the statement.
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Today, the British company has agreed to sell FT Group, which includes The Financial Times (FT), to Japan’s largest media company, Nikkei, for £844 million (approximately US $1.3 billion).
The deal is subject to regulatory approvals. Pearson wanted FT to be handled by a global news company that focuses its effort on the digital market.
Nikkei CEO Naotoshi Okada bristled at the suggestion that its flagship business daily was a “mouthpiece” for corporate Japan that had initially ignored, then soft-pedalled an accounting scandal at Olympus Corp – a story the FT broke. The New York Times’ Hiroko Tabuchi questioned Nikkei’s journalistic integrity, while others used humour to express surprise. Digital subscriptions rose 21% to about 504,000, which is 70 percent of FT’s total consumers.
In 2014, FT Group contributed £334m of sales and £24m of adjusted operating income to Pearson.
“We share the same journalistic values”, he added.
Axel Springer had been in talks with Pearson for over a year, but their bid was upended by Nikkei’s unexpected entry five weeks ago and negotiations continued nearly literally to the last minute, with the German publisher finding out its bid was rejected only fifteen minutes before Pearson announced the sale to Nikkei.
The company is an global leader in educational publishing and is believed to want to focus more into that sector. Her successor, John Fallon, who took over in January 2013, was more prudent, describing the FT as a “highly valued” part of Pearson.
The chairman and group CEO of Nikkei, Tsuneo Kita, said he was “extremely proud” to be teaming up with the FT.
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Reporters at the paper said there was some apprehension, as they knew very little about their new owner, but there was also relief they had not been bought by Bloomberg LP – another potential buyer – which could have resulted in duplication of staff roles and more potential job cuts. “Together, we will strive to contribute to the development of the global economy”. The group had however said it maintained committed to the paper due to its strong brand.
