Japan's Nikkei Inc., an operating holding company with the newspaper Nikkei as its core, has agreed to acquire the Financial Times Group from Britain's Pearson, an education company, for a gross consideration of £844 million or $1.3 billion in cash, according to a statement in Pearson's website.
Pearson's chief executive, John Fallon, said that because of the growth of mobile and social, they have reached an"inflection point in media."
"In this new environment, the best way to ensure the FT's journalistic and commercial success is for it to be part of a global, digital news company," he said in the statement.
The deal gives Nikkei access to the Financial Times Newspaper, FT.com, How To Spend It, FT Labs, FTChinese, The Confidentials and Financial Publishing (including The Banker, Investors Chronicle, MandateWire, Money-Media, Medley Global Advisors and more)," according to the statement.
It doesn't include, though, Financial Times Group's London property at One Southwark Bridge and Pearson's 50 percent stake in the Economist Group.
Fallon also said that the company will now be focusing more on its "global education strategy."
"The world of education is changing profoundly and we see a huge opportunity to grow our business through increasing access to high quality education globally," he said in the statement.
Nikkei Asian Review reports that the acquisition aims to advance Nikkei's global and digital growth strategy as Economic and business news is expected to gain more prominence in the digital age.
The Financial Times, a leading news organization, recognized for its authority, integrity and accuracy and a pioneer in digital reporting, has increased its total circulation to 737,000 in the last five years. Digital subscribers account for 70 percent or more than 500,000 of the total subscription base.
Chairman and Group CEO of Nikkei, Tsuneo Kita, is proud of the team up with the Financial Times.
"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," he said in a statement. "We share the same journalistic values. Together, we will strive to contribute to the development of the global economy."
The Financial Times reports that Nikkei's offer trumps the offer from Axel Springer, one of the leading digital publishers in Europe. The company from Germany has been in talks with Pearson in recent weeks.
The deal is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2015.
