Will Ethridge, chief executive of Financial Times publisher Pearson's North American education division, has sold a big chunk of shares in the company.

He disposed of 33,000 American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) for $16.83 (£1,033p) a time or a total of nearly £350,000.

News of the share sale comes after the day after it emerged that Pearson has frozen Libya's stake in the company, which is bigger than first thought.

Pearson said in June that the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) had acquired 24,431,000 shares in the company. Chief executive Marjorie Scardino said she was "uncomfortable" about 3% of the company being owned by the Libyans.

However, Pearson revealed that it "has reasonable cause to believe that the LIA may have acquired an additional 2,141,179 shares resulting in a total interest in 26,572,179 shares." This means the LIA has a 3.27% stake in the company.

Earlier in the week Pearson revealed that it had made an adjusted operating profit of £857m in 2010, up 15% on the year before, as the education business grew 13% to £691m, Penguin added 10% to £106m and the FT Group rose 54% to £60m.

Ethridge joined Pearson in 1988 after the acquisition of the publisher Simon & Schuster.

Top Director Buys

General Electric Co (GEC)
Director name: Mr Jeffrey R Immelt
Amount purchased: 40,000 @ € 15.31
Value: € 612,592

Avanti Communications Group (AVN)
Director name: Mr Nigel Adrian Dawson Fox
Amount purchased: 9,780 @ 506.00p
Value: £49,487

Craneware (CRW)
Director name: Mr Keith Neilson
Amount purchased: 3,525 @ 564.75p
Value: £19,907

Centaur Media (CAU)
Director name: Mr Geoff Wilmot
Amount purchased: 25,000 @ 67.00p
Value: £16,750

Anglo Pacific Group (APF)
Director name: Mr Matthew Tack
Amount purchased: 4,000 @ 324.70p
Value: £12,988

Syndicate Asset Management (SAM)
Director name: Mr Peter Dew
Amount purchased: 800,000 @ 1.58p
Value: £12,640

Top Director Sells

Lancashire Holdings (LRE)
Director name: Mr Robert Alan Spass
Amount sold: 75,052 @ 590.64p
Value: £443,287

Pearson (PSON)
Director name: Mr Will Ethridge
Amount sold: 33,000 @ 1,034.69p
Value: £341,448

Bunzl (BNZL)
Director name: Mr Brian May
Amount sold: 21,987 @ 745.23p
Value: £163,854

Bunzl (BNZL)
Director name: Mr Michael J Roney
Amount sold: 20,366 @ 745.23p
Value: £151,774

Bunzl (BNZL)
Director name: Mr Patrick Larmon
Amount sold: 18,272 @ 745.23p
Value: £136,168

Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH)
Director name: Mr Ian Page
Amount sold: 19,426 @ 507.75p
Value: £98,636

Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH)
Director name: Mr Edwin Torr
Amount sold: 10,361 @ 507.75p
Value: £52,608

Bunzl (BNZL)
Director name: Mr Paul Nicholas Hussey
Amount sold: 4,737 @ 745.23p
Value: £35,302

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