23rd Jul 2015 11:15
LONDON (Alliance News) - Pearson PLC Thursday confirmed it is in advanced discussions over the potential sale of the FT Group, consisting of the Financial Times, a 50% shareholding in The Economist Group and the Vedomosti joint venture in Russia.
However, it provided no details of with whom it is in discussions, and said there can be no certainty these talks will lead to a sale.
"A further announcement will be made if and when appropriate," the company said.
The response follows a report from Reuters that Pearson was set to announce a sale of the Financial Times "imminently" to a "global digital news company".
Speculation has been mounting that Pearson would look to sell the financial newspaper as it looks to focus increasingly on its education and publishing businesses. It has owned the Financial Times since 1957. Pearson, which at one point was a media and entertainment conglomerate, had previously owned assets including the Tussauds group - consisting of Alton Towers and the Madame Tussauds waxwork museums.
Bloomberg had reported on Monday that Pearson was exploring a potential sale of the Financial Times. That report suggested the sale may value the business at as much as GBP1 billion, and suggested German publisher Axel Springer as a potential suitor.
John Micklethwait, former editor-in-chief of the Economist, replaced Matt Winkler as editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News at the start of the year.
Pearson last broke out the FT Group's financials in 2013, when it reported an adjusted operating profit of GBP55 million, and sales of GBP449 million. The Financial Times said its total circulation grew 10% in 2014, and subscriptions rose 21%.
Shares in Pearson were trading up 2.1% at 1,233.91 pence Thursday midday, the third best performers in the FTSE 100.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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