In a statement, Pearson said: "This process will establish whether a potential sale of Groupe Les Echos may create value for Pearson's shareholders and enable Les Echos' editorial independence to continue and its people to prosper under a new owner.
"Groupe Les Echos includes: Les Echos, France's leading business newspaper; lesechos.fr, France's leading business media website; Enjeux, a leading business magazine; and other specialist financial information services. In 2006, Groupe Les Echos contributed €126m of sales and €10m of operating profit to Pearson."
On Monday, Pearson was reported to be holding discussions with NBC owner GE about launching a counter bid for The Wall Street Journal, which is currently subject to a takeover attempt by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.
According to reports, Pearson is considering a partnership with GE-owned channel CNBC to launch a rival bid for Dow Jones & Co, which publishes The Wall Street Journal.
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