Groupe Les Echos

Pearson PLC
05 November 2007


5 November 2007


Statement regarding Groupe Les Echos


Pearson today announces that it has signed an agreement to sell Groupe Les Echos
SA to LVMH for €240m in cash.

This follows today's ruling by the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris. It
concluded that Pearson's consultation process with the Works Council of Les
Echos has been satisfactorily completed.

The agreement between Pearson and LVMH includes a series of measures to protect
editorial independence and jobs at Les Echos, which were first published on 23
July 2007.

Pearson and LVMH expect to complete the transaction towards the end of the year.
In 2006, Groupe Les Echos contributed €126m of sales and €10m of operating
profit to Pearson.

Groupe Les Echos includes Les Echos, France's leading business newspaper;
lesechos.fr, France's leading business media website; Enjeux, a leading business
magazine; and other specialist financial information services.


For more information:

Luke Swanson/ Simon Mays-Smith/ Charles Goldsmith + 44 (0) 207 010 2310


Notes to editors:

The agreement between Pearson and LVMH incorporates a series of measures to
protect editorial independence and jobs. These include:


Editorial quality and independence

The editorial independence arrangements, which will be incorporated into the
statutes of Les Echos, include the following:
     
1.   An 11 member supervisory board will be established, which will include
     three independent members and the editor-in-chief of Les Echos.

2.   The three independent members will be appointed by the Company's
     shareholders from candidates agreed unanimously by a committee comprised of
     representatives of LVMH and the Society of Journalists of Les Echos.

3.   Neither Mr. Eric Izraelewicz, nor any future editor-in-chief of Les Echos, 
     may be dismissed by the Supervisory Board without the approval of at
     least two independent members.

4.   Any future editor-in-chief will be nominated by LVMH subject to the
     approval of the supervisory board, including at least two independent 
     members, unless the appointment is vetoed by a majority of journalists at 
     Les Echos.

5.   The same will apply to the editor-in-chief of "Enjeux".

6.   An ethical charter - a high level framework for the protection of editorial 
     quality and independence - will be agreed by LVMH, Pearson and the
     Society of Journalists.

7.   An Editorial Independence Committee will be established, consisting of two 
     members of the supervisory board representing LVMH; two of the independent
     members and two members appointed by the Society of Journalists. Its role 
     will be to ensure that the values of the ethical charter are upheld. The 
     Committee will consider complaints from any editor or journalist regarding 
     any alleged breach of the editorial independence by the shareholders. If 
     the Editorial Independence Committee upholds a complaint, the Committee 
     will require the Editor-in-Chief to publish the complaint prominently in 
     the newspaper and the affected journalists may exercise their 'Clause de 
     Conscience', which allows them to resign and receive a dismissal payment.
     
8.   These editorial independence arrangements can only be changed with the
     approval of two of the three independent members.

Employment

1.   There will be no redundancies of Les Echos people for at least four years.

2.   The terms of the existing collective agreements will be maintained for
     at least five years.

3.   All employees entitled to exercise their 'Clause de Cession' right, which 
     allows them to resign and receive a dismissal payment as a result of the
     sale, will have the right to do so for two years from the closing.



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