Pearson has long been said to have been considering a sale of the title, which is edited by Lionel Barber.

The statement Thursday did not mention the potential buyer, only that Pearson would make an announcement when appropriate.

Speculation has been mounting that Pearson would look to sell the financial newspaper as it looks to focus increasingly on its education and publishing businesses.

It has owned the venerable Financial Times since 1957. Pearson, which at one point was a media and entertainment conglomerate, had previously owned assets including the Tussauds group – consisting of Alton Towers and the Madame Tussauds waxwork museums.

A spokesman for Thomson Reuters declined to comment.

Previous reports from other news organisations have suggested a host of potential suitors for the FT, including German publisher Axel Springer, Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters (Dusseldorf: TOC.DU – news) and also Buzzfeed.

On 20 July, rumours about the possible sale surfaced as people familiar with the matter told media that Pearson was looking to sell its FT division for £1bn.

The Financial Times’ circulation a year ago was nearly 720,000 across print and online.

The City responded positively to the news, sending Pearson shares up 2.5% at 1239p.