Reuters confirms takeover approach

REUTERS CONFIRMS TAKEOVER APPROACH
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Gordon Smith]
Reuters, the news and information group, confirmed on Friday it had received a preliminary approach ­ thought to be from Canadian rival Thomson ­ as interest in providers of financial information reaches unprecedented levels. Thomson, the company that is thought to have made the approach, is also growing its information services quickly. Later this month it will start selling a new global news service to clients built on the back of AFX News, the financial newswire service it bought for an estimated $20m last year, as it attempts to compete more effectively with rival Bloomberg. But a sale may be complicated by Reuters’ shareholder structure. The Reuters Founders Share Company controls 30 per cent of the voting shares and was set up when the group listed in 1984 and is ordered to maintain the independence of the company.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/761152aa-fa21-11db-8bd0-000b5df10621.html
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