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Could the Financial Times finally be sold off? Possibly, as news of talks with Dow Jones emerge.
Reports have surfaced of a potential tie-up between The Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones and the Financial Times-owning Pearson.

The two papers each try to straddle the globe, with each doing better in its home markets.

A combination of the two (in printing and the back office) could save as much as £170m, with the FT withdrawing in much of America (other than New York) and the WSJ doing the same in Europe.

They might be rivals, but on a day-to-day level each is so dominant in its home market as to make the other something of an irrelevance.

The FT has never cracked America beyond its East Coast beachhead where it remains a second read.

Likewise, the WSJ journal is no feature in London and lags behind the FT in Europe.

The two already work together in Russia and the news will only add to talk that Pearson plans to sell the FT, despite opposition from Pearson chief executive Marjorie Scardino, who said it would happen "over my dead body".

It would still be a wrench for many to see the “pink paper” sold to an American company, but if not Dow Jones then another American media gaint..

Rupert Murdoch, News Corp chairman, is known for a long time to have coveted the FT. The paper already works with the Murdoch-owned The Australian down under.

There's the New York Times Company as well, which made an approach to Pearson offering to buy the paper several years ago.

The New York Times, with its ownership of the International Herald Tribune, would make another fine partner. The two would also be able to save cash via combining printing and back offices.
Published Jun 27 2006, 04:27 PM by Gordon Macmillan
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Gordon Macmillan

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