FT Business Sells Newsletters & Management Reports

Pearson PLC
8 December 1999


SALE OF FT BUSINESS NEWSLETTERS AND MANAGEMENT REPORTS

Financial Times Business, part of the Financial Times Group, has sold its
newsletters and management reports businesses to Informa Group plc.  In
September, the FT Group announced FT Business was selling these titles to
concentrate on financial magazines and energy information.

Financial Times Business will focus on investing in its core businesses which
include market-leading titles such as Financial Adviser, Investors Chronicle
and The Banker.  These products have a clear relation to the FT brand, they
will be developed and expanded.  FTB's leading position in Energy information
has been boosted by recent acquisitions in the US and there are plans for
further growth and development.

The publications have been sold for a consideration of £13.5m, consisting of a
cash sum of £9.9m and assumed liabilities for pre-paid subscriptions totalling
£3.6m.  They feature media, telecoms, retail and consumer, automotive,
pharmaceuticals and financial sectors. Approximately 100 staff will be
transferring to Informa. There are no redundancies as a result of the sale. 
The range of products includes 60 newsletters, seven magazines, 600 management
reports and 24 directories across all sectors.  Key titles include World
Insurance Report, Television Business International, Automotive World, Telecom
Markets and Pharmaceutical Business News.

Stephen Hill, Chief Executive of the FT Group, said: 'The disposals are part
of a strategic plan to grow businesses in which we have a market lead.  The
wide range of markets and product lines represented by the newsletter and
management reports part of the group was clearly at odds with our ambition to
develop businesses of significant scale and market presence.'


Notes to editor

In addition to FT Business the Financial Times Group consists of: the
Financial Times, Les Echos, France's leading business newspaper and Expansion,
Spain's leading business newspaper; ft.com, one of the world's premier
international business information websites; FT Asset Management, a leading
source of specialist pricing, dividend, corporate action and asset management
information to institutional investors - Pearson announced on 15 November
plans to merge this business with Data Broadcasting Corporation, Pearson will
hold a 60% stake in the new company; FTSE International, a joint venture with
the London Stock Exchange, which provides the professional investment
community with the leading UK indices and, together with the Amsterdam Stock
Exchange, publishes the Eurotop family of indices; AFX news, a news agency
jointly owned with Agence France-Presse, which is a global provider of
real-time financial and business news; a 50% stake in BDFM, publisher of South
Africa's leading financial newspapers and website; and a 50% stake in The
Economist group, which publishes the world's leading weekly business and
current affairs journal.

For more information please contact

Benjamin Wegg-Prosser       Pearson plc              + 44 171 411 2310