Pearson selected Nikkei as the buyer of the Financial Times because of the ability of the two business newspapers to combine the culture and due to their similar editorial independence, writes Kelsey Sutton of Capital New York.
Sutton writes, “Considerations to sell F.T. began last year among Fallon, Ridding, and F.T. editor-in-chief Lionel Barber amidst an upheaval in journalism’s business model around the world.
“‘We started to talk seriously about the best long-term future for the Financial Times, particularly given this inflection point in the media,’ Fallon said.
“It was agreed that Nikkei was best poised to help F.T. navigate into uncharted territory for F.T., including expansion into Asian markets and to the U.S.
“‘What the F.T. really needed was to be part of an organization that is completely and absolutely focused on journalism,’ Fallon said.”
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