Thomson Reuters to buy Breakingviews

By Robert MacMillan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Thomson Reuters Corp said on Wednesday it will buy business commentary service Breakingviews, a move by the news and financial data provider to significantly increase its production of commentary written by columnists.

The Breakingviews board has recommended that shareholders in the privately held company accept the offer, Thomson Reuters said, adding that the transaction should close within eight weeks. A price has not been disclosed.

The decision to buy Breakingviews pushes Reuters News further into the world of commenting on business and financial news. That arena includes players such as Lex, the commentary service run by Pearson Plc's Financial Times newspaper, and Heard on the Street, part of News Corp's Wall Street Journal.

Breakingviews chief Hugo Dixon will run the commentary service, which will operate separately from Reuters' news reports. Thomson Reuters said it is talking to Jonathan Ford, who was hired last year to start the Reuters commentary service, about taking on other roles at Thomson Reuters.

Reuters decided to buy Breakingviews even after starting its own service because the deal was at an attractive price and will accelerate the company's push into commentary, Reuters Editor-in-Chief David Schlesinger said.

When asked whether there would be layoffs as a result of the deal, Schlesinger said no decision has been made.

"There may be a few people who end up leaving," he said. "But the point of the deal is not to have a small team."

Breakingviews distributes its columns to about 400 clients such as financial institutions, and reaches about 15,000 users, said its U.S. editor, Rob Cox.