Financial Times sold to Nikkei for a whopping $1.3 billion. But wait, do you know about Nikkei?

No, dear Twitterati, despite your dreams of seeing stock market updates with gifs, Financial Times (FT) has not been bought by social news website BuzzFeed (BF). Instead, Japanese financial media group Nikkei, a name a surprising number of journalists are relatively unfamiliar with, bought the business news giant from Pearson for a sum of š844 million pounds (or $1.3 billion). Phew.

On Thursday, Pearson announced its intentions of selling FT and that it was in "advanced talks", after owning the financial newspaper for almost 60 years. Shortly after the announcement, Twitter and other social networking sites began speculating possible tie-ups and BF emerged an oddly unlikely, but popular option.

If reports of Financial Times being sold to Buzzfeed/ Gawker are true, this is brilliantly apt. via @leftoutside pic.twitter.com/5uZo0DuiXa

— Krishn Kaushik (@Krishn_) July 23, 2015

Buzzfeed is acquiring Financial Times. Nothing will ever be the same again.

— HindolSengupta (@HindolSengupta) July 23, 2015

Please be Buzzfeed, please be Buzzfeed, please be Buzzfeed https://t.co/5qXQebTrvf

— Primly Stable (@PrimlyStable) July 23, 2015

Quick fact: Pearson's former chief executive, Marjorie Scardino, had famously said that she would outright reject proposals to buy out Financial Times. She said this could happen "over my dead body," The Wall Street Journal notes. Oh well.

While the rumours were still rife, Nikkei Asian Review tweeted the news of their latest buy - Financial Times. Oh well, better luck next time BuzzFeed.

Media merger: Nikkei to acquire the Financial Times http://t.co/kcnLcBBup4

— Nikkei Asian Review (@NAR) July 23, 2015

While every internet-loving human on the planet has (if not by choice, by accident) been on the BF website, trying out a quiz, or reading an article, let's admit, not many of us knew all about Nikkei.

Here's a quick lesson.

• If you're Japanese and don't know Nikkei, it's a shame, as it's undoubtedly one of the largest media companies in the country delving into all forms of journalism - be it broadcast, newspaper, magazines or websites
• Nikkei's flagship newspaper by the same name, which is published in two editions - morning and evening - has a daily circulation of almost 3 million, making Nikkei the world's largest financial title, as noted by The Telegraph.
• This circulation number is interestingly more than that of The Times of India in our country, at 2,890,628 as per the January-June 2014 Audit Bureau of Circulations.
• Nikkei's other products are its English language business title Nikkei Asian Review, TV Tokyo and finance and business news channel, Nikkei CNBC.
• Old, but not much older than Financial Times, Nikkei was founded in 1876, which makes it 12 years older than the latter.
• Nikkei has 54 news bureaus in Japan and 36 overseas, including one each in New Delhi and Mumbai. That's right.