Nikkei’s deal for FT means more competition in America

Ken Doctor writes for Capital New York about how Nikkei’s purchase of The Financial Times means increased competition in business news in the United States.

Doctor writes, “‘People say that it’s about Asia. One of the things that struck me in the conversations with Nikkei is that they say, ‘absolutely Asia, but very much the United States.’ They are very forward about that and very ambitious,’ Ridding told me. Indeed, Nikkei’s C.E.O. has talked about making his company an ‘unprecedented leader’ among news companies.

“‘We’ve felt for a long time that the U.S. is our most important emerging market,’ he said, laughing. ‘We’re way underpenetrated and the opportunity to invest in the U.S. with our business model is at least as exciting as the opportunity in Asia,’ Ridding told me Friday before departing on a long-planned holiday this week. It will be on the water, and I suggested he throw his smartphone into it if he expected to relax.

“‘It’s been quite complicated,’ he acknowledged, ‘but I think I’m just going to be OK.’

“John Ridding’s renewed U.S. push and plans ‘to take it to the next level’ spell more competition in a crowded market, as Bloomberg Media continues to calibrate its moves, Will Lewis tries to rev up The Wall Street Journal and Thomson Reuters tests new tactics. Then, there’s Business Insider and Quartz, nibbling a little more voraciously around the edges of the business news marketplace.”

Read more here.