Reuters and International Herald Tribune sign content deal

LONDON (Reuters) - News and financial information provider Reuters and the International Herald Tribune said on Monday they would launch a co-branded daily online and print business report for the newspaper from next month.

From January 7, business sections of the International Herald Tribune and the newspaper's online site will be rebranded and carry content written and edited by Reuters staff, the two companies said.

The collaboration with the flagship newspaper of the New York Times Media Group, which also covers the IHT's Asian editions, replaces an agreement the IHT has with privately held Bloomberg LP that finishes at the end of the month, they added.

The NYT media group is part of the New York Times Co, which also publishes the Boston Globe, daily newspapers and dozens of Web sites.

The co-branding venture will combine news, analysis and comment from business writers and columnists at the IHT, the New York Times and Reuters.

Under the deal, the IHT will still be allowed to use content from third-party news providers.

Financial terms of the collaboration were not disclosed.

Reuters has agreed to a takeover by publisher Thomson Corp. The deal is being probed by European and U.S. regulators and is expected to be complete around the first quarter of 2008.

(Editing by Jan Paschal)