The Financial Times (FT) is entering into a new chapter in its 127-year history, as its British owner Pearson is to sell the business to Japanese media group Nikkei for £844m in cash.
The Japanese media group managed to beat Germany’s Axel Springer in the race to purchase the new paper, which has stood the test of time and was one of the first to successfully implement a paid subscription service.
Nikkei has a strong hold in its home country, with its circulation surpassing 3 million for its morning edition alone, but it is little known in other countries.
But following the completion of the acquisition in the fourth quarter of this year, Nikkei will get a larger presence outside its home base.
The assets sold includes the FT newspaper, FT.com, How to Spend It, FT Labs, FTChinese, the Confidentials and Financial Publishing.
Pearson said that Financial Times contributed £334m of sales and £24m of adjusted operating income to the company last year.
Nikkei Group CEO Tsuneo Kita said: "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."
The staffs of FT are happy about the fact that the paper did not go into the hands of Bloomberg which would have resulted in several job cuts due to duplication of staff roles across the companies, reported Reuters.
