Nikkei £844 million acquisition of the Financial Times Group

Overview:

• Japanese media company Nikkei has acquired the Financial Times Group from Pearson for £844 million in an all cash purchase.
• The Group contains flagship daily the Financial Times (FT), as well as a number of other business titles including The Banker and Investors Chronicle. The deal does not include the group's London riverside headquarters which will be rented from Pearson.
• The move is seen as a way for Nikkei to break out of its home market where it owns the self titled Nikkei newspaper. Germany group Axel Springer was believed to be a possible buyer before Nikkeu's bid.
• The sale itself involved negotiations over the title's continued editorial independence, with Nikkei stating that this would be maintained.
• For Pearson the decision to sell rests on a stated intention to focus on its core business of educational publishing, this has sparked rumours that the company may look to sell its stake in another flagship business title, The Economist.

Sam Duke - Editor