Thomson Reuters has agreed to sell a 51% stake in its Global Print business to KKR for approximately $500 million, creating a new joint venture focused on distributing legal and tax information through print and digital books.
Following the transaction, Thomson Reuters will retain a 49% interest in the business. The company will also maintain ownership of the underlying intellectual property and retain editorial control over its content portfolio.
The newly formed venture will receive an exclusive license to distribute Thomson Reuters content in print and digital book formats.
The Global Print business provides legal and tax information to customers worldwide. It also offers commercial printing services to third-party book publishers.
The division generated approximately $490 million in revenue during 2025. However, its sales are expected to decline as customers continue moving from printed materials and digital books toward online research platforms and software-based products.
Thomson Reuters said the transaction will allow the Global Print business to operate with greater independence and receive focused investment and operational support from KKR.
For Thomson Reuters, the divestiture supports a broader strategy of concentrating resources on its three primary customer segments: legal professionals, corporations, and tax, audit, and accounting professionals.
The company has been increasing its focus on software, digital information services, and artificial intelligence products developed for regulated professional markets.
Thomson Reuters is positioning its technology around what it describes as fiduciary-grade AI, which is intended to provide reliable and professionally appropriate tools for legal, tax, audit, risk and compliance work.
The company believes selling a controlling interest in the print operation will provide additional flexibility to invest in these faster-growing areas while preserving an economic interest in the legacy business.
Under the proposed structure, KKR will own a majority stake and gain control of the standalone venture’s operations.
Thomson Reuters will continue supplying the content distributed by the business and will retain authority over editorial standards and decisions.
This structure separates responsibility for producing and distributing physical and digital books from ownership and oversight of the professional content itself.
The transaction also includes certain financial support from Thomson Reuters that could guarantee KKR a minimum return on its investment under specified circumstances.
Further details about the return arrangement were not disclosed.
The Global Print business serves legal, tax, and accounting professionals who continue to use books and other reference materials alongside online research products.
Although the long-term shift toward digital services is expected to reduce print revenue, the division maintains established customer relationships, recognized content, and specialized production capabilities.
KKR has invested in several publishing and media businesses divested by larger corporate owners seeking to focus on digital products and higher-growth operations.
The private equity firm can provide the venture with dedicated management attention, capital, and operational resources while pursuing efficiencies and new commercial opportunities.
The transaction could also give the print operation greater freedom to manage its costs, production network, customer relationships and digital book strategy independently from Thomson Reuters’ broader software and AI-focused organization.
Thomson Reuters expects the transaction to close during the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
The company is the parent organization of Reuters News, which operates independently under the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
KEY QUOTE:
“We believe this transaction with KKR provides our Global Print business with the focused investment, operational capabilities, and independence to thrive as a standalone business. At the same time, it sharpens Thomson Reuters’ focus on providing innovative fiduciary-grade AI solutions for the legal, tax, audit and compliance industries.”
Steve Hasker, CEO of Thomson Reuters
