British publisher Pearson has decided to sell the Financial Times newspaper to a global, digital news company, a person familiar with the deal said on Thursday.

A full announcement is expected shortly, the person told Reuters.

Pearson, which has become the world's leader in educational publishing, believes the time is right for it to focus fully on its education strategy and no longer on the media sector, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Pearson declined to comment.

The group, which has owned the salmon pink-paged newspaper for nearly 60 years, is due to report results on Friday.

Shares in Pearson were up 1.9 per cent after the Reuters report.  - Reuters