Japan's Nikkei buys Financial Times in $1.3 billion deal

LONDON (Reuters) - Japanese media group Nikkei on Thursday agreed to buy the Financial Times from Britain's Pearson in a $1.3 billion deal that brings together two leading financial news organizations from Europe and Asia.

The sale of the FT Group does not include its 50 percent stake in The Economist magazine or the London headquarters of the newspaper on the banks of the River Thames.

Reuters reported earlier on Thursday that the 171-year-old Pearson had finally decided to sell the pink-paged business daily after years of speculation that it could be sold as Pearson expanded into education.

That report prompted a flurry of speculation, with two newspapers including the Financial Times reporting that Germany's Axel Springer would be the buyer, which Springer subsequently denied.

In a joint statement, Pearson said it had agreed to sell the FT Group to Nikkei for $1.3 billion in cash. Its shares were up 2.3 percent at 1040 EDT.

"I am extremely proud of teaming up with the Financial Times, one of the most prestigious news organizations in the world," said Tsuneo Kita, cairman and group CEO of Nikkei. "We share the same journalistic values."

(Additional reporting by Paul Sandle, Sarah Young and Neil Maidment in London, Jennifer Saba in New York, Klaus Lauer and Erik Kirschbaum.; editing by William Schomberg and Giles Elgood)

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