With all the talk of Pearson plc joining General Electric Co.
in a possible bid for Dow Jones & Co., the U.K. publisher's efforts to
refocus around its core education assets have been overlooked. As part of the
reorganization, Pearson said Tuesday that it is considering strategic options
for French media company Groupe Les Echos. Pearson said the review will
establish whether a sale would create value for Pearson's shareholders and
enable Les Echos' to continue its editorial independence. Groupe Les Echos
includes Les Echos, a French business newspaper; lesechos.fr, a business media
Web site; Enjeux, a business magazine; and other services. In 2006, Groupe Les
Echos had operating profit of €10 million ($13.4 million) on sales of €126
million. A further announcement will be made in due course, Pearson said.
—Phineas Lambert
See
story about Tuesday's announcement from The Times of London
See
June 18 story about possible Les Echos bidders from TheDeal.com
See
June 18 story about Dow Jones from TheDeal.com
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