July 14 (Reuters) - Thomson Reuters said it would sell a 51% stake in its Global Print business to KKR for about $500 million and form a venture with the private equity firm that would hold exclusive license to distribute its content in print and digital books.
The deal, announced on Tuesday, will allow Thomson Reuters to keep intellectual property rights and editorial control over its content portfolio, as well as a 49% stake in the venture.
The global print business supplies legal and tax information
to customers worldwide in print and digital book formats and offers commercial printing services to book publishers.
It brought in $490 million in revenue last year, accounting for nearly a quarter of the total, but the unit's sales are expected to decline each year as customers migrate to online products.
Selling the stake would allow Toronto-based Thomson Reuters to focus more on its "Big 3" business segments of legal professionals, corporates and tax, and audit and accounting.
"We believe this transaction with KKR provides our Global Print business with the focused investment, operational capabilities, and independence to thrive as a standalone business," said Steve Hasker, CEO of Thomson Reuters.
"At the same time, it sharpens Thomson Reuters focus on providing innovative fiduciary-grade AI solutions for the legal, tax, audit and compliance industries."
U.S. shares of the company were down about 1.3% in premarket trading.
KKR, one of the world's biggest private equity firms, has been buying up media and publishing units that larger owners are shedding to focus on faster-growing digital businesses.
Under the deal, Thomson Reuters said it would provide some financial support to guarantee KKR a minimum return on its investment in the joint venture in certain circumstances.
Thomson Reuters, which is the parent company of Reuters News, expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter of 2026.
(Reporting by Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Shinjini Ganguli)
