Springer, which had been in discussions with Pearson for about a year, was not given the chance to submit a higher bid, reported by a person close to the sales process.
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Any buyer would gain a premium and profitable company, but nearly no control of it, and would have to contend with a potential veto from Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone.
In today’s trading, Pearson shares were down two percent at 1,195.00p, as of 08:48 BST.
The following is based on off-the-record conversations with people involved in the sale, all of whom asked to remain anonymous in order to speak freely.
The report says the talks involve other shareholders in the Economist Group. A few of the staff of The Economist Group also control shares in the company, which is private.
The 39-year-old is increasingly focussed on investments in media and financial services, as he looks to move the Agnelli family away from its industrialised past and into the tertiary sector of the economy. The answer was clear to FT management and to analysts – Pearson Education. Pearson Chief Executive Officer John Fallon is seeking to focus on the company’s education business, digital operations and emerging markets to counter a slowdown in mature markets in the US and United Kingdom.
Financial Times journalists seem somewhat shellshocked by yesterday’s turn of events, but relieved to be told by their leaders that the new owners are committed to editorial independence and to growing the business. Pearson and the FT will continue to work together in areas like business education and teaching English to professionals in countries such as China, as Fallon noted.
Indeed, Kita told delegates at a news conference yesterday (24 July) that Nikkei would not interfere with the editorial compass of the paper, and added “the FT is going to be the FT – it remains unchanged”. The deal was announced Thursday.
While it’s hard to pin down a precise comparison between the FT Group and The Post, looking at the deal terms side by side shows the FT coming out on top across the board.
Nikkei, advised by bankers from Rothschild, had to bump its offer price several times without knowing for sure who its competitors were, or how numerous.
Axel Springer was a hot favourite, with Reuters confidently predicting that the German media group was in the final stages of talks.
In terms of global and digital, Nikkei barely qualifies.
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The company hopes that publishing Nikkei stories on Asia in the FT will increase its global profile.
