Now that’s some news.

The London-based provider of financial news and data also said on Wednesday it was selling its 50 percent stake in archival news service Factiva to joint venture partner Dow Jones & Co. Inc. for $160 million ($153m in cash on closing plus $7 million in preferred stock issued by Factiva. Completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions and is expected to occur by end of 2006.)

Reuters said the third quarter generated its strongest net sales so far this year. Subscription sales are a leading indicator of revenue as Reuters recognizes a sale when it signs up a new customer but does not record any revenue until the product is installed.

Here’s the official news release from Reuters.

Tom Glocer, Reuters Chief Executive, said: “Dow Jones has been a very good partner and together we have built a valuable asset in Factiva. We view this transaction as the natural conclusion to this successful joint venture. We wish Dow Jones every success in taking Factiva to the next phase of its evolution.”

Official News Release from Dow Jones

Owning 100% of Factiva will accelerate the pursuit of our mission, which is to be the world’s best publisher of high quality, indispensable and conveniently accessible business and related content across all media channels.” said Rich Zannino, chief executive officer of Dow Jones. “The acquisition will nearly double the size of our Enterprise Media Group….Strategically, acquiring 100% ownership of Factiva will further Dow Jones’ vision to be the world’s best provider of high-quality, indispensable and conveniently accessible business and related content across all media channels…Thethe Dow Jones Consumer Media Group will be able to leverage Factiva’s sophisticated enterprise-facing search capabilities to develop business search products targeting the consumer market.

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