Euromoney appoints Thomson Reuters executive Rashbass chairman

By Jennifer Saba

(Reuters) - Euromoney Institutional Investor Plc on Thursday named Andrew Rashbass, chief executive of the Reuters news division of Thomson Reuters Corp, as executive chairman.

Rashbass, 49, will take over from Richard Ensor, 66, who retires at the end of September, said Euromoney, one of Europe's largest business and financial publishers, with a market capitalization of about 1.5 billion pounds ($2.2 billion).

Shares of Euromoney rose 4.9 percent to 1,192 pence in London trading. The company, which also runs events and provides data on companies in finance, law, energy and transport, is 67 percent-owned by Daily Mail & General Trust Plc.

"Andrew has a relevant record in the financial information sector that should provide comfort he will have views on strategy and be able to take them forward without having to learn the industry," said Johnathan Barrett, an analyst at N+1 Singer.

Rashbass joined Thomson Reuters in July 2013 from The Economist Group, where he was CEO. Rashbass launched a subscription news video app called Reuters TV in February, and also expanded the Reuters domestic U.S. news service, which competes with the Associated Press.

Thomson Reuters said Rashbass will leave the company at the end of April and Reuters Editor-in-Chief Stephen Adler will take over the commercial side of the news business on an interim basis while it searches for a new chief executive.

Thomson Reuters Chief Executive Jim Smith said in a memo to employees that he expects Adler to "further integrate and monetize our news and media business."

Revenue for Reuters News was $319 million in 2014.

Thomson Reuters shares rose 0.17 percent to $41.74 on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock rose 0.55 percent to C$52.56 in Toronto.

($1 = 0.6776 pounds)

(Additional reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Ted Kerr and Tiffany Wu)