British publisher Pearson revealed today it is in "advanced" talks to sell its flagship business newspaper the Financial Times to an unnamed suitor.
"Pearson notes recent press speculation and confirms that it is in advanced discussions regarding the potential disposal of FT Group although there is no certainty that the discussions will lead to a transaction," the company said in a brief statement issued on the eve of its half-year results.
"A further announcement will be made if and when appropriate," it added following reports of the FT's potential sale to an unnamed media group.
The FT Group provides a range of business news services that also include a 50-percent share of The Economist magazine and a joint venture with Russian business paper Vedomosti.
The Financial Times has a combined paid print and digital circulation of 720,000, most of which is through the popular FT.Com website.
Following today's surprise announcement, Pearson's share price rallied 1.90 per cent to 1,232 pence on London's FTSE 100 index, which was 0.17-percent higher at 6,678.78 points.
The group, which earns 90 per cent of sales from its education division, had in previous years denied persistent speculation that the FT was for sale.
Pearson -- which has become a world leader in education publishing -- is said to want to focus on the booming sector, according to analysts.
Launched in 1888, the widely-respected FT business daily was purchased by Pearson in 1957.
The FT's European edition first hit the printing presses in Frankfurt in 1979. The paper is now printed all over the world, including in New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Dubai.
The paper has been printed on distinctive pink paper since 1893.
The FT.Com website -- which now accounts for 70 per cent of total circulation -- was launched in 1995.
The newspaper's digital subscriptions overtook print circulation in 2012, while mobile -- tablets and smartphones -- account for about half of FT.Com traffic.
Back in February, Pearson forecast that group earnings could soar by a fifth this year, aided by cost-cutting and expanding online sales.
Earnings per share -- a key measure of company performance -- could rise to between 75 pence and 80 pence this year, compared with 66.7 pence in 2014, the group predicted.
Net profits slid 12.5 per cent to 471 million pounds last year on restructuring costs and adverse foreign exchange moves.
FT education products meanwhile serve two thirds of the world's top business schools, according to Pearson.
