Japanese business media group Nikkei Inc is to snap up one of the most respected names in global journalism, as the education publisher, the Pearson Group confirmed that it had struck a deal to sell the FT Group for £844 million.
The deal does not include Pearson’s 50 per cent stake in The Economist Group or the FT’s headquarters in central London, but does include the salmon-pink newspaper itself, FT.com, and other publications such as The Banker and the Investor Chronicle.
“The transaction is subject to a number of regulatory approvals and is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2015,” Pearson said on Thursday. Nikkei emerged as the surprise winner, following speculation in a number of publications that Germany’s conservative media group, Axel Springer, was the front contender to take over the newspaper.
Aside from newspaper, the Nikkei, with a subscriber base of over 3 million, Nikkei Inc also owns specialised papers, including Nikkei Business Daily, as well as publishing, broadcasting and events.
Analysts have, for a while, speculated that the FT Group could be put up for sale, given Pearson’s increasing focus on the under-pressure global education market.
Following a two-year restructuring and cost-cutting programme that began in 2013, the education business continues to struggle, particularly in the US where Pearson makes most of its revenues.
Digital news companyPearson CEO John Fallon said given the challenges facing the global news industry, “the best way to ensure the FT’s journalistic and commercial success is for it to be part of a global, digital news company.”
The sale represents the first change of ownership in over 50 years for the Financial Times, founded in 1888 and acquired by the Pearson Group in 1957. The Nikkei just predates the FT with the Chugai Bukka Shimpo (Domestic and Foreign Prices News) founded in 1876.