: Lazard :

In 1999, Pearson owned, directly and indirectly, a 50% interest in Lazard Brothers, the UK merchant bank, and smaller holdings in the Lazard banking houses in New York and Paris. Income from the three Lazard houses was a record £48m. In June, we announced the sale of our interests in the three Lazard houses to Financière et Industrielle Gaz et Eaux S.A., a French listed investment company. The sale of the three houses, raising a total of £436m, was completed in March 2000.