Financial Times touted by banks for £1bn Some of the banks are also offering publishing group Pearson's share in The Economist magazine, as well as acquisitions database Mergermarket to potential buyers, according to documents. The FT owner has repeatedly denied appointing advisors to sell the newspaper and has indicated to investment banks that it is unlikely to chase a deal for the title in this way. However, banks are courting potential buyers so that they can present the media and education group with an offer, following the pattern of previous Pearson divestments. The banks are said to be seeking offers for between £740m and £1bn for the newspaper, equivalent to 37 times its projected earnings before interest, taxation and depreciation in the current financial year. Bloomberg, the financial data company founded by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is tipped as the frontrunner for the title. Pearson's 50pc stake in The Economist is being touted for around £225m, and Mergermarket is being offered for £250m. At least one of the banks, also thought to include Credit Suisse, is understood to have told would-be buyers that Pearson had tasked them informally to seek out potential deals but the media company denied this was the case. "Pearson has initiated no sale process regarding the FT and categorically denies authorising any adviser or any bank, formally or informally," it said. The banks declined to comment. Speculation that Pearson would sell the FT intensified after former chief executive Dame Marjorie Scardino said she was stepping down at the end of last year. The sell-off would help Pearson evolve from a media business to a fully-fledged education specialist.