MESSAGE
| DATE | 2007-05-12 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] Public Information for Sale 7.75 Billion dollars
|
homson selling reference unit for $7.75 billion U.S. Email Story Email
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OMERS and partner Apax agree to price that tops analysts' estimates by
$1 billion May 12, 2007 04:30 AM Chris Sorensen Business Reporter
Thomson Corp. has struck a deal to sell the company's higher education,
careers and library reference divisions for $7.75 billion (U.S.) in
a move that would provide much-needed cash for a proposed $17 billion
purchase of Reuters Group PLC.
Thomson, based in Toronto and Stamford, Conn., said yesterday that
London-based buyout firm Apax Partners and the Ontario Municipal Employees
Retirement System agreed to buy Thomson Learning and Nelson Canada.
"This sale is part of Thomson's previously announced strategy to sell the
assets of its Learning business to enable Thomson to pursue opportunities
better aligned with its growth strategy and business model," Thomson
said in a statement.
The sale was expected. Thomson first said it intended to sell the assets
in October.
Analysts, however, weren't expecting the $7.75 billion price tag, which
was at least $1 billion higher than some earlier estimates.
The proceeds should be enough to fund the entire cash portion of Thomson's
proposed bid for Reuters, the 156-year-old news agency and provider of
financial information. Details of the bid were revealed earlier this week.
The extra cash appeared to put Thomson investors at ease. Shares of
the company closed up $1.74 (Canadian) at $46.74 on the Toronto Stock
Exchange yesterday.
Thomson shares had fallen nearly 7 per cent after it was first revealed
the company was interested in buying Reuters, which was founded in 1851
by Paul Julius Reuter and now spans 131 countries.
If Thomson's bid is successful, the combined entity will edge past
the current industry leader, Bloomberg LP, in providing major banks
and brokerages with financial news and data. Recent estimates suggest
Reuters has about 23 per cent of the market, compared with Bloomberg's
33 per cent. Thomson, meanwhile, has 11 per cent.
Analysts have described the proposed deal as "monumental" for Thomson,
a company that was once considered among the world's largest publishers
of newspapers, including such prestigious titles as The Times of London.
Under the proposed plan, the newly merged corporation would still be
controlled by the Thomson family, but would be known as Thomson-Reuters.
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