14th Sep 2015 15:27
LONDON (Alliance News) - The UK Competition and Markets Authority on Monday invited comment from third parties about the acquisition of the Financial Times Group by Nikkei Inc.
The CMA said it wants to determine whether the acquisition of the business newspaper will result in a substantial lessening of competition within its industry in the UK.
Japanese media group Nikkei agreed in late July to buy the Financial Times from FTSE 100-listed Pearson PLC for GBP844 million.
The CMA said it is inviting comment on the transaction from any interested party, with a deadline of September 28.
Following its Financial Times agreement, Pearson in August agreed to sell its 50% stake in The Economist Group for GBP469 million in cash to Exor SpA, the investment vehicle run by Italy's Agnelli family, and to The Economist publisher itself, as Pearson shifts its focus entirely to its education businesses and away from general publishing.
On Monday, Bloomberg reported that Pearson Chief Executive John Fallon said the company intends to keep hold of its stake in book publisher Penguin Random House until at least 2017.
Shares in Pearson were trading down 0.5% at 1,131.00 pence near the close Monday.
By Karolina Kaminska; [email protected] @KarolinaAllNews
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