Categories: OLD Media Moves

Pearson approached Hearst about Economist stake

Pearson is expected to announce the sale of its stake in the publisher of The Economist magazine as early as this week for about £400m, reports Henry Mance and Arash Massoudi.

Mance and Massoudi write, “According to two people close to the situation, Pearson held unsuccessful talks with Hearst Corporation, publisher of the magazines Good Housekeeping and Marie Claire, about a sale. It is not clear why those negotiations broke down.

“Pearson, the Economist Group and the De Rothschilds declined to comment.

“Exor — which has built a 4.7 per cent stake in The Economist since John Elkann, its chief executive, was appointed to the board in 2009 — has previously said it is looking to increase its stake but not to seek a majority of the group. It declined to comment further.

“Any sale of Pearson’s stake must be approved by the Economist Group’s four trustees, whose role is to protect the independence of The Economist magazine.”

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Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.