FT Purchased For $1.3 Billion — Nikkei Financial Times

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom is advising Japanese media group Nikkei on its £844 ($1.3 billion) purchase of the Financial Times from Britain’s Pearson, which turned to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer for advice.

Pearson boss John Fallon implied there had been a bidding war for the newspaper, while adding that he was confident the FT’s new owners would respect its reputation for editorial independence unhindered by its corporate bosses.

Confirmation of the sale – slated to close in Q4 subject to regulatory approval – came after a day of speculation, which saw German publishing group Axel Springer initially touted as the most likely buyer for one of the world’s most prestigious business newspapers. Pearson is the leader in the U.S. market for standardized testing materials, making more than 60 per cent of its revenue in North America.

Pearson, which also owns a large stake in the book publisher Penguin Random House, has long been thought ready to sell the newspaper.

Chairman and Group CEO of Nikkei, Tsuneo Kita, is proud of the team up with the Financial Times.

The sale does not include the FT Group’s property at One Southwark Bridge, where it has its headquarters, and its 50% stake in The Economist. Its flagship title, published in morning and evening editions, has a daily circulation of nearly three million, making it the world’s largest financial title. British publisher Pearson is selling the paper to Japanese media company Nikkei.

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 the 127-year old newspaper now has a circulation of 737,000 with 70% of that coming from digital sources.

In 2014, Financial Times expanded its print and online service by 10% year-over-year to almost 720,000.

The unlikely cross-border marriage announced Thursday has sparked concerns about interference from the new owners at the storied salmon-pink business paper, which was founded in 1888. “We are not thinking of making the FT do the same as us editorially”, Okada said.

Fallon didn’t mention The Economist, though its role at Pearson may be up in the air with the company’s focus squarely on education.