Thomson Reuters sells 51% of global print business to KKR for $500m to form new joint venture, but retains ownership of IP

Photo by Bank Phrom on Unsplash

Thomson Reuters Corporation, the Canadian owner of various publishing businesses as well as the Reuters News service, is to sell 51% of its Global Print business to investment firm KKR for $500m. The deal will result in the formation of a new joint venture, with Thomson Reuters holding 49%.

The Global Print business supplies legal and tax information to customers worldwide in print and eBook formats and offers commercial printing services to book publishers.

Thomson Reuters will still own all intellectual property rights and will have full editorial control over its content portfolio. The new joint venture will hold an exclusive license to distribute the content in print and on ProView, Global Print’s eBook platform.

In a statement, Thomson Reuters’ President and CEO Steve Hasker says:

“The Global Print business has a long and respected history of serving legal and tax professionals with trusted printed reference materials. We believe this transaction with KKR provides our Global Print business with the focused investment, operational capabilities, and independence to thrive as a standalone business, while ensuring that Thomson Reuters printed content continues to reach the professionals who depend on it. At the same time, it sharpens Thomson Reuters focus on providing innovative fiduciary-grade AI solutions for the legal, tax, audit, and compliance industries.”

“Thomson Reuters has built a highly regarded, trusted print platform that has become the gold standard for printed reference materials,” said KKR Partner Brian Dillard, Co-Chief Investment Officer for Global Atlantic. “Building on KKR’s experience with helping global corporations unlock value in their businesses, we see a compelling opportunity both to support the Global Print business as a standalone proposition and to help Thomson Reuters optimize its portfolio of businesses.”

The Global Print business had $490 million in revenue last year, but the unit’s sales are being hit hard as customers switch to online products.

A Bloomberg story on the deal says:

“Selling the stake would allow Toronto-based Thomson Reuters to focus more on its “Big 3” business segments of legal professionals, corporates and tax, and audit and accounting.”