REUTERS TO BUY I P SHARP OF CANADA

  Reuters Holdings Plc &lt;RTRS.L> said it
  had agreed in principle to buy &lt;I P Sharp Associates Ltd> of
  Toronto for 30.4 mln stg.
      Sharp is a time-sharing network and database company
  specialising in finance, economics, energy and aviation. It
  operates a global packet-switching network and global limits
  systems for foreign exchange trading.
      Sharp shareholders will be offered cash, shares or a
  mixture of the two in settlement. The acquisition, which is
  subject to Canadian government approval, would be through
  amalgamation into a specially-created company.
      Reuters said it had been given options by a number of Sharp
  shareholders covering 67 pct of the common stock pending
  completion of a Reuters review of the company.
      Sharp operates 38 offices in 20 countries. In 1986 it
  reported revenue of 55 mln Canadian dlrs with a pretax loss of
  1.6 mln compared with a 1.9 mln profit in 1985.
      However, Sharp said that internal accounts showed the
  company was in profit in the first two months of 1987.
      End-1986 net assets totalled 11.85 mln dlrs.
      A Reuters statement said the acquisition would fit
  perfectly into its package for the banking and securities
  industries.
  

