Britain’s Pearson has sold the Financial Times newspaper to the Japanese media group Nikkei for some USD 1.3 B in cash, the two companies said on Thursday.

Pearson, which has owned the FT for nearly 60 years, has decided to sell the UK’s best-known business newspaper because it has reached "an inflection point in media, driven by the explosive growth of mobile and social,” Pearson CEO John Fallon said in a statement.

“In this new environment, the best way to ensure the FT’s journalistic and commercial success is for it to be part of a global, digital news company," Fallon added.

The deal won’t include Pearson’s 50% stake in the Economist magazine or the FT’s headquarters on the banks of the River Thames in London.

Fallon said that Pearson will now be fully focused on its global education strategy.

“The world of education is changing profoundly and we see huge opportunity to grow our business through increasing access to high quality education globally.”

Nikkei chairman and CEO Tsuneo Kita said in a separate statement they are "extremely proud of teaming up with the Financial Times, one of the most prestigious news organizations in the world.”

“Our motto of providing high-quality reporting on economic and other news, while maintaining fairness and impartiality, is very close to that of the FT,” Kita said.

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