British publishing company Pearson on Wednesday said it had agreed to sell its 50% stake in The Economist Group, owner of prestigious magazine The Economist.
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Pearson said in a statement that Exor SpA, the Agnelli family’s investment company that also controls car-manufacturer Fiat Chrysler, agreed to pay 227.5 million pounds for 27.8 percent of the Economist Group’s ordinary shares and all of the B special shares for 59.5 million pounds.
The remainder of Pearson’s shares will be bought back by The Economist Group itself, and held in its treasury “as a future source of equity that can support the growth of the company”, the group said.
An Economist spokesman said the transaction will “safeguard the independence of the company and crucially, the editorial independence of The Economist”.
The publication, which says it targets readers including influential executives and policy-makers, had a paid circulation of 1.6 million a week at the end of 2014.
Italy’s Exor has boosted its stake in The Economist Group.
Around a third of the group’s sales and profits also come from the combination of the Economist Intelligence Unit, a research group, and CQ Roll Call, an American political news outlet.
Following a sale of the Economist, Pearson’s only remaining flagship media interest is its 47% stake of book publisher Penguin Random House.
The disposal swiftly follows Pearson’s recent sale of the FT Group, which includes the Financial Times newspaper, to Nikkei Inc. of Japan for GBP844 million.
In 2014, The Economist Group contributed £21m to Pearson’s operating income. Herbert Smith Freehills acted for Pearson on the newspaper deal’s UK real estate matters, with a team led by Alice Dockar.
The transaction has the full support of the Economist’s board, independent trustees and the editor, Zanny Minton Beddoes, he added. John Elkann, 39, the CEO of Exor, is also a board member of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.
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Pearson acquired its stakes in both titles in 1957. Pearson has separately sold the Financial Times to Nikkei for £844 million. “Exor has shown great respect for the culture and traditions of The Economist, underscored by its willingness to cap its voting rights”. Its turnover was £553m, up from £519m.
