UPDATE: Pearson Agrees To Sell Interactive Data Stake For $2 Billion

Pearson PLC (PSON.LN) said Tuesday it has agreed to sell its 61% controlling stake in Interactive Data Corp. (IDC) for $33.86 a share, netting the U.K.-based publisher around $2 billion before tax.

Interactive Data, a financial market data provider listed in the U.S., is being bought by private-equity firms Silver Lake Partners and Warburg Pincus, for about $3.4 billion, after it began a preliminary review of its strategic alternatives in January.

Pearson, which publishes the Financial Times newspaper and has extensive education-publishing operations, said it will use the sale proceeds "to accelerate the expansion of its businesses, including through bolt-on acquisitions, with a particular focus on adding complementary technology and services to its international, consumer and professional education businesses." It didn't provide further details of its future plans.

"Pearson and Interactive Data have extensive growth opportunities and ambitious expansion plans, and we believe this transaction will give both companies greater focus and opportunity to invest more in their strong market positions," Pearson Chief Executive Marjorie Scardino said in a statement.

Pearson secured a "reasonable price" for its stake in Interactive Data, which is in line with market expectations, Royal Bank of Scotland analyst Paul Gooden said.

Gooden, who has a sell rating on Pearson and 865 pence target price, estimated the stake sale will be around 6% dilutive to earnings. A Pearson spokesman declined to comment on Gooden's estimates.

At 0840 GMT, Pearson shares were down 11 pence, or 1.1%, at 1040 pence in a lower London market.

The sale, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to be wrapped up by the end of the third quarter of 2010.

-By Lilly Vitorovich, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-0-207 842 9290; lilly.vitorovich@dowjones.com

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