Categories: OLD Media Moves

Reuters receives takeover inquiry

Zimri Smith and Mark Herlihy of Bloomberg News report that busines news wire services Reuters Group Plc has been approached by an unidentified buyer, sending its stock up.

Smith and Herlihy wrote, “Reuters has almost 17,000 employees and 196 news bureaus worldwide. Shares of the 156-year-old company had jumped 8 percent before the statement on speculation about an offer from Thomson Corp., the Canadian owner of the Westlaw legal database and TradeWeb financial services.

“‘Thomson is the most likely candidate as the businesses are a good fit,’ said Simon Wallis, an analyst at Collins Stewart in London. ‘Reuters will also be attractive to private equity, as there is the possibility to boost market share and cut costs.’

“Shares of Reuters climbed as much as 157.5 pence to 649.75 pence, and traded at 615 pence at 11:49 a.m. in London. Alex Brog, a spokesman for Thomson in London, declined to comment.”

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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.