Nikkei agrees to buy FT for $1.3b

Japanese media company Nikkei has agreed to buy the FT from education company Pearson for 844 million $1.3 billion at a time when media companies globally are going through unprecedented upheaval. 

Pearson has long signalled its intention to focus on education, its core business. The company had previously denied interest in selling the asset, with former chief executive Dame Marjorie Scardino famously saying the highly regarded financial newspaper would only be sold over my dead body.

Prior to the deal being struck, there was speculation that German media company Axel Springer would buy the British publication. In the end, however, the Financial Times brand...