The Financial Times group of companies has been offered for sale to the Nikkei Inc at £844million cash, Pearson will announce today.
Nikkei Inc is a large media business in Asia. FT is one of the largest news organizations in the world.
John Fallon, Pearson’s chief executive, said in a blog post:
“Pearson has been a proud proprietor of the FT for nearly 60 years. But we’ve reached an inflection point in media, driven by the explosive growth of mobile and social. In this new environment, the best way to ensure the FT’s journalistic and commercial success is for it to be part of a global, digital news company.
“Pearson will now be 100% focused on our global education strategy. The world of education is changing profoundly and we see huge opportunity to grow our business through increasing access to high quality education globally.
“Nikkei has a long and distinguished track record of quality, impartiality and reliability in its journalism and global viewpoint. The Board and I are confident that the FT will continue to flourish under Nikkei’s ownership.”
Tsuneo Kita, Chairman and Group CEO of Nikkei, said:
“I am extremely proud of teaming up with the Financial Times, one of the most prestigious news organizations in the world. Our motto of providing high-quality reporting on economic and other news, while maintaining fairness and impartiality, is very close to that of the FT. We share the same journalistic values. Together, we will strive to contribute to the development of the global economy.”
Evercore, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan Cazenove acted as financial adviser to Pearson on this transaction.
– With agency reports
