Suddenly three beautiful mermaids surround him examining his body kissing and caressing him Noticing the red tab on his jeans they

Suddenly, three beautiful mermaids surround him, examining his body, kissing and caressing him Noticing the red tab on his jeans, they try to tug them off. Pitched into the sea, our semi-naked hero sinks to the seabed. A violent storm lashes the bows of a tiny fishing boat. That won’t go down well, and you can expect the take- over premium attached to the shares to remain in place for as long as there are uncertainties about Pearson’s strategic futurenMathew Horsman is media analyst at the City firm of Henderson Crosthwaite Institutional Brokers.. Scardino’s background as chief executive of the Economist Group, 50 per cent owned by Pearson, indicates that she is at home with the task of developing strong publishing brands, and branching out into electronic publishing and other ventures on the back of core titles.But as for big asset disposals, it appears that the City will have to wait a bit longer.

Why shouldn’t a major media group like Pearson have a stake in TV?The future of Pearson TV notwithstanding, Scardino is already looking at the core publishing businesses, and is believed to have formed a strong view on the need to develop the group’s brands further The FT Group will be an early target for change. Scardino, for her part, isn’t sure the TV assets should be sold. It is an open secret that Dyke and senior management at Pearson TV want the opportunity to take an equity stake in the subsidiary. That will come as a bit of a blow to Greg Dyke, who runs Pearson Television, the owners of Grundy Worldwide, Thames Television and a stake in the new Channel 5. Are there any other nasties out there? Scardino will want to know for sure before proceeding.So don’t expect concrete news yet on what the new management will do.

The discovery led to an ongoing investigation that has clearly spooked the new management. The core media operations provide a far more focused company than the Pearson of old.But how quickly will Scardino move? City hopes that the next set of results would be accompanied by some details on restructuring have now receded, in light of the devastating news that Penguin Books would have to take a pounds l00m hit thanks to the irregular discounts offered to some US retailers. So does consumer publishing, led by Penguin, and Financial Information, which includes the mighty Financial Times brand. A sale would lead to a capital loss of pounds 250m – more than covered by the proceeds of other disposals.The remaining assets, particularly educational publishing (Addison-Wesley- Longman and the recently acquired HarperCollins division), provide plenty of scope for further growth.

Mindscape has been nothing but trouble, even if the strategy of moving into electronic publishing can readily be applauded. New management always has the luxury of distancing itself from the “mistakes” of the past. Another pounds 400m might be raised through the sale of Pearson’s remaining, indirectly held stake in the satellite TV giant BSkyB.The CD-Rom business, Mindscape, was also a much favoured target. Favourite candidates for sale among the key subsidiaries included the Tussaud Group, which might raise a net pounds 270m if sold today, and the stakes Pearson holds in the Lazard merchant banking group, worth perhaps pounds 300m.