FT Business race is on

MEDIA giant Pearson has reopened the auction for its financial magazines after the management buyout team led by Stephen Hill slashed its offer price.

Pearson invited new bids for FT Business after Hill, former chief executive of the Financial Times, cut his offer for the FT Business division, which includes Investors Chronicle, from £75m to £60m.

The cut came after a PricewaterhouseCoopers report was thought to have raised doubts about the profitability of the former division as a stand-alone operation.

The report is thought to have indicated that future years's profits would be lower than the predicted figures in the Pearson sale documents.

Hill, backed by private equity group Permira, is still in the race, but now he will face competition from at least half a dozen media companies. Pearson is thought to be looking for up to £90m.