by Allister Heath
It will be fascinating to see how news giant Bloomberg responds to the creation of a such a powerful new global financial media giant – Nikkei combined with the FT. The US company presumably decided that the price tag was just too steep and the overlaps with its current business just too large. Will it now go for Pearson’s stake in The Economist instead? Will it invest even more money to build an online, consumer-facing rival to FT.com, or will it focus on its hugely lucrative terminals business? News Corporation, owner of the Wall Street Journal, may decide to intensify its efforts, especially in its US home market, hoping to capitalise on the upheaval at the FT. The transaction raises a number of other interesting issues.
New owners almost always choose their own management teams when they buy a business, especially when the company they purchase operates in the same industry. Will this also happen in the FT’s case, and if so when? When the dust settles, will Nikkei send in its own editorial and business executives, or will it recruit in the UK or US? Nikkei and the FT are hugely complementary in Europe and the US – but it will be interesting to see whether the FT’s strategy in other markets, including in particular China, changes as a result of the takeover.
Japanese firms such as Nissan, Toyota and many others own thriving, successful operations in the UK. Sony Pictures – the old Columbia Pictures – has been one great example of a US creative content brand that has been in Japanese hands for years. But it remains to be seen whether this particular transaction proves to be a good cultural match: it may depend on how much integration Nikkei is really seeking.
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