Thomson Corp will buy Reuters Group
08.05.2007
Canadian publisher Thomson Corp is in talks to buy Reuters Group Plc for about 8.8 billion pounds ($17.6 billion) to create the world's biggest news and financial data company, the two firms said on Tuesday.
Under the terms of the proposed deal, Reuters CEO Tom Glocer would become chief executive of a dual-listed group to be called Thomson-Reuters, the companies said in a joint statement.
The Thomson family, which owns 70 percent of the Toronto-based group, would own 53 percent of the combined firm.
Reuters investors would get 352-1/2 pence in cash and 0.16 Thomson stock per share, worth 697 pence a share at Monday's closing prices. That would be 42 percent above Reuters close on Thursday, the day before it announced a bid approach. The deal value is based on the number of outstanding Reuters shares.
Reuters second-largest shareholder, ValueAct, said the price seemed fair and it was happy with the mix of cash and shares.
United Kingdom (9) -- Analyses-- 2007
About THOMSON-REUTERS
08.05.2007
The combined Thomson Financial unit and Reuters financial and media businesses would be called Reuters, and adopt the Reuters trust principles aimed at protecting the independence of its news, the companies said. The Reuters Founders Share Co, run by 15 trustees, has a "golden share" and could block a takeover.
The Thomson family bought its first newspaper in 1934 and built a publishing empire which for a time included the Times newspaper and Scottish Television.
It branched into other fields, including creating a travel business that still bears its name, before focusing more recently on electronic publishing. It is in talks to sell its education unit, which analysts say could raise about $5 billion.
Reuters was founded by German-born immigrant Paul Julius Reuter in 1851 when he opened an office to transmit stock market quotes between London and Paris via the new Calais-Dover cable.
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