News and information group Reuters said today its takeover by Canadian rival Thomson was on track and could be completed later this year.
Reporting a 11% rise in pre-tax profits to £136m in the first half, Reuters said discussions with regulators over the £8.7bn Thomson deal were progressing and that customers were supportive of the tie-up.
The deal with Thomson, announced in mid-May, ends 156 years of independence for Reuters, which started out as a company flying share prices between Aachen and Brussels by carrier pigeon.
Reuters chief executive Tom Glocer, who will remain as head of the merged news and information group and is set for a £27m windfall, said his company had remained “focused” on growth in the first half.
“We are off to a very good start in planning for our integration with Thomson,” he added. “The more we advance in these activities, the more excited I become about the prospect of creating a truly great information company.”
The company said that management was committed to delivering a signature year for Reuters and Mr Glocer described the latest performance as the strongest six months of sales in more than five years.
Still, like many companies recently, Reuters flagged up the impact of a strong pound against the dollar on first-half revenues. At £1.3bn they were up 6.4% on an underlying basis but down 0.7% on an actual basis due to currency effects.
