DHAKA: Publishing group Pearson has announced it is to sell the Financial Times Group to Japanese media firm Nikkei for £844m in cash.

Speculation that Pearson was eying a sale of the 127-year old newspaper emerged on Monday.

The sale does not include Pearson's 50% stake in the Economist or the FT's London office at One Southwark Bridge, the company said in its statement, reports bbc.com

Shares in the group closed up more than 2% on the news.

"Pearson has been a proud proprietor of the FT for nearly 60 years. But we've reached an inflection point in media, driven by the explosive growth of mobile and social", said Pearson's chief executive John Fallon.

"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 continued.

The Financial Times Group consists of the "Pink 'un" and a stable of other business publications, among them Investors Chronicle, the Banker, MandateWire, Money-Media and Medley Global Advisors.

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

The publishing group has been moving increasingly into the provision of education services in North America and in emerging markets. It has previously said it remained committed to the newspaper because of its strong brand.

BDST: 0914 HRS, JULY 24, 2015
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