The Financial Times today announces the launch of Due Diligence, a newsletter for premium subscribers that will cover the biggest news and topics in the world of mergers and acquisitions.

Written by a team of FT reporters based in London, New York and Hong Kong, Due Diligence is delivered to readers Tuesday to Friday by email at 5am UK time each morning. The writing is led by the FT’s M&A correspondents Arash Massoudi and James Fontanella-Khan, who together with our global network of corporate reporters have broken a number of the biggest deal stories of the last few years.

The writers will curate Due Diligence so that it features the most important stories and themes on any given day. It will highlight the best of the FT’s M&A reporting as well as insightful work from other outlets. There will be sections dedicated to job moves in the industry, smart reads and also a news round-up. Where appropriate, the reporters will insert exclusive reporting.

James Fontanella-Khan said: “The idea with Due Diligence is simple: news is coming at us all at an unprecedented pace. It’s hard for people to keep up. We’re creating a service that helps our readers find their way through the increasingly complex world of mergers and acquisitions, using our expertise to curate the most important news related to deals and dealmakers anywhere.”

Arash Massoudi said: “We believe there is an opening for a sharp briefing that communicates with our readers – who range from students to CEOs – in a more conversational way about M&A. What distinguishes the FT’s M&A coverage is our newsrooms ability to work together on complex situations to not only uncover the scoop, but also cover every important aspect of a deal thoroughly and authoritatively. With Due Diligence, we hope to give our readers an even deeper glimpse into what we learn daily doing our jobs.”

So far this year, the FT has broken several agenda setting stories including the €50bn merger of European eyewear and lens giants Luxottica and Essilor. FT reporters uncovered the $143bn offer by Warren Buffett-backed Kraft Heinz to acquire Unilever and wrote the defining account of how the takeover bid collapsed.

Due Diligence joins a stable of more than 20 newsletters from the FT, a dozen of which have launched in the past two years alone. These include Authers’ Note, Brexit Briefing, fintechFT and FirstFT. The FT’s eight subscriber-only newsletters have open rates reaching 50 percent.

Andrew Jack, head of curated content at the FT, said: “Due Diligence enhances our range of specialist newsletters, providing busy decision makers with original insights, analysis and a selection of articles that matter.”

Due Diligence is only available to Premium FT subscribers. Financial Times Premium gives readers unlimited access to the FT, including extra analysis and comment from the FT’s award-winning columnists.



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For further information, please contact:

Christopher Chafin
E: christopher.chafin@ft.com
T: 917.551.5093

About the Financial Times

The Financial Times is one of the world’s leading business news organisations, providing a broad range of information, news and services. It is recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. In 2016 the FT passed a significant milestone in its digital transformation as digital and services revenues overtook print revenues for the first time. The FT has a combined paid print and digital circulation of almost 850,000 and makes 60% of revenues from its journalism.

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