Thomson and Reuters have agreed terms of a merger that will create the
world's largest provider of financial news and information, write Graeme Wearden and Katie Allen on media.guardian.co.uk.
Under the terms of the deal Canadian news and information group Thomson will pay approximately £8.7bn for its rival.
The combined business, named Thomson-Reuters, will overtake Bloomberg at the top of the financial data market.
Tom Glocer, the Reuters chief executive, will become chief executive of the merger company, with Thomson's CEO, Richard J Harrington, retiring.
The two companies announced a week ago that they were in talks, alarming union members at Reuters who fear that editorial integrity could be damaged.
Crucially, the deal now has the backing of the Reuters Founders Share Company, which has the power to block any deal that might damage editorial integrity.
"The combination of these two great businesses will create an exceptional global information company guided by the Reuter Trust Principles," said Mr Glocer, who is expected to make £30m from the deal.
"It will provide a broader offering to our customers, deliver value to our shareholders and create great opportunities for our people," Mr Glocer added.
Thomson will pay 352.5p in cash plus 0.16 of a share for each Reuters share. Based on the Thomson closing price before news of the deal emerged, that values the business at 705p a share, a 43% premium.
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