German magazine group Spiegel, which publishes the Der Spiegel business magazine, is talking with publisher Pearson about buying out its 50 percent stake in the Financial Times’ German edition. Founded in 2000, Financial Times Deutschland (FTD) is published in German at ftd.de, not ft.com. The other half of the operation is owned by Bertelsmann subsidiary Gruner+Jahr, which itself publishes the likes of P.M. Magazin and National Geographic Deutschland. An employees’ representative at FTD said Pearson wanted to sell its stake. It looks like refocusing on the core product – this comes as Pearson continues the protracted off-loading of French daily Les Echos to LVMH.