Challenges ahead for Thomson Reuters

Boyd Erman of the Toronto Globe and Mail writes Friday about the challenges facing the combined operations of Thomson and Reuters, which are now one company.

Erman writes, “There will be job losses, he says, though he expects them to be relatively minor because there’s little overlap (with the possible exception of real estate). Getting rid of two of the three Tokyo offices is on the to-do list. But he figures the company will meet its integration targets, so he doesn’t have to sweat that.

“His bigger challenge is to ensure products from the two entities are reaching their combined market. When a scientist working on drug development looks to her Thomson Scientific terminal to find a research paper, Mr. Glocer wants her to also see a stream of news written by Reuters journalists around the world, with headlines on biotechnology and pharmaceuticals flashing across the screen.

“So far, investors doubt he can grow Thomson Reuters. In its first day of trading, its shares slid 3.6 per cent on the TSX on concern the new company is too heavily weighted toward providing data to financial markets, where customers are slashing jobs.

“ABN Amro hung a ‘sell’ rating on the stock, citing the 60 per cent of revenue from the financial sector where Reuters and rival Bloomberg LP compete to provide securities prices and news to traders and money managers.”

Read more here.