Pearson (NYSE: PSO) has confirmed the sale of its 50 percent stake in FT Deutschland to Hamburg-based magazine publisher Gruner + Jahr, which already owned the other half. The deal includes the FT continuing to license its brand and content to FT Deutschland. No price disclosed in the announcement (a recent story in the FT itself estimated around 20 million euros, or £15 million, Brand Republic notes). FT Deutschland, which published online at ftd.de, has built 105,000 readers since launching in 2000. FT Group CEO Rona Fairhead: “We are incredibly proud to have played a part in launching and building a leading business newspaper in Germany.  However, the FT Group is increasingly focused on the worldwide expansion of the Financial Times and our digital financial information businesses. FT Deutschland no longer fits within that strategy.”

• Pearson Looks To Sell Half Of FT German Edition; Refocusing On English Assets?