Financial Times Deutschland to close

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/nov/23/financial-times-deutschland-close-germany

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The Financial Times' sister paper in Germany is to close after more than 12 years, its Hamburg-based publisher has confirmed.

The last edition will be published on 7 December after the magazine division of German media company Bertelsmann was not able to find a buyer for the FT sister paper. More than 300 employees will lose their jobs next year.

"The Financial Times Deutschland has made losses since it was founded in 2000. Against this background we see no way to continue", said Julia Jaekel, manager of publisher Gruner + Jahr, on Friday.

FT Deutschland was launched as a rival to Handelsblatt just as the dotcom bubble burst. FT publisher Pearson sold its 50% stake to Gruner + Jahr at the beginning of 2008. The German paper has a circulation of 100,000 but has never been profitable.

An insider told Reuters that Gruner + Jahr expected a loss of €15m (£12m) this year for FT Deutschland and its finance magazines Capital, Impulse and Börse Online. According to the insider FT Deutschland has made losses of more than €250m since its launch.

Gruner + Jahr, which also publishes magazines Stern and Brigitte, said it would carry on publishing Capital but is looking for a buyer for the other two business titles. If that is not successful, it will close them down as well.

The FT Deutschland is another casualty in Germany's media market. The Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper filed for bankruptcy this month, citing massive losses and falling circulation. In October, Germany's second biggest news agency, DAPD, filed for insolvency protection and announced plans to cut 100 jobs.