Pearson CEO says Financial Times is not for sale

The new chief executive of British education and media group Pearson said the Financial Times (FT) is not for sale, refuting repeated media speculation about the newspaper's future at the company.

"The FT is a valued and valuable part of Pearson. I have said the business is not for sale, nor have we initiated, conducted, encouraged in any shape or form, any sort of process whatsoever, nor have I had any conversations with anybody about the sale of the FT," Chief executive John Fallon said when asked about the newspaper on a call with reporters on Monday.

The company said earlier it expects this year's earnings to be flat on 2012 and it will start a 150 million pound restructuring plan.

(Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Rhys Jones)