Categories: OLD Media Moves

Shares of Financial Times parent rise on takeover speculation

Shares of Pearson Plc, the parent of financial newspaper Financial Post, rose amid speculation that it’s a potential takeover target, according to a Reuters story.

The Reuters story stated, “‘The credit default swaps have been widening on Pearson and this is a lead indicator of takeover speculation,’ said ABN AMRO analyst Paul Gooden.

“A spokeswoman for Pearson said the London-based company never commented on market speculation.

“At 0957 GMT, shares in Pearson were up 1.4 percent at 823-1/2 pence, the best performance among UK media stocks at a time when the Dow Jones Stoxx media index was unchanged.

“Potential bid interest has underpinned Pearson’s shares in recent months, particularly in the run-up to last month’s results amid speculation of a potential leveraged buyout or possible move by Chief Executive Marjorie Scardino who has been running the company for 10 years.”

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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.