Just hours after confirming that it was talking to potential buyers, Pearson confirmed that the Financial Times will be sold to Japanese media group Nikkei Inc.
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The cash deal is subject to regulatory approval and expected to complete in the fourth quarter of this year.
Pearson Plc, which owned the salmon-hued paper with an editorial team of roughly 500 journalists in more than 50 locations around the world, had been seeking to sell the paper to focus on its education business.
Shares rose 2% shortly after the deal was announced and several analysts told the Wall Street Journal it was a sensible move. “Together, we will strive to contribute to the development of the global economy”, Tsuneo said.
Pearson’s chief executive, John Fallon, said that because of the growth of mobile and social, they have reached an ” inflection point in media”. Nikkei emerged as the surprise victor, following speculation in a number of publications that Germany’s conservative media group, Axel Springer, was the front contender to take over the newspaper. In early trading on Thursday (23 July) its shares were up 3% to 1,237p.
Pearson has owned the FT for almost 60 years. The duo previously advised the publisher on the combination between its Penguin and Random House, as well as its disposal of Mergermarket Group.
The Nikkei, Japan’s biggest business newspaper with 3.12 million subscribers, is the most widely read media outlet for the country’s chief executives.
Pearson said circulation at the FT – founded in 1888 – had grown by 30% over the past five years to 737,000.
Fallon didn’t mention The Economist, though its role at Pearson may be up in the air with the company’s focus squarely on education.
“I’m anxious that the Financial Times could become like the Nikkei, and I hope that will not be the case”, said Goushi Kataoka, an economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Research.
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For the deal, Evercore, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan Cazenove acted as financial adviser to Pearson, while Rothschild Group acted as financial advisers to Nikkei.
