Blackwell severs family ties in £572m Wiley sale

The £572m acquisition of Blackwell Publishing by rival John Wiley & Sons is necessary to meet the demands of electronic publishing and increasing global research and development, executives at both companies say.

An economy of scale is required as increasing R&D budgets are driving up the levels of scientific papers that need publishing online, while users demand increasingly sophisticated online systems, said Blackwell president Bob Campbell .

Campbell said the deal came about from discussions he and Rene Olivieri, Blackwell CEO, had with JP Morgan Cazanove , the publishing company’s financial advisors. Under the terms of the agreement, Wiley has acquired the outstanding shares in Blackwell in a deal that will be completed in January 2007.

“Funding for R&D is very fashionable and that means more research, which means more papers. We need to be bigger and more efficient to cope with scientific growth,” he said.

“The combined business will publish approximately 1,250 scholarly peer-reviewed journals,” said William J Pesce, president of Wiley . According to Campbell, the combined company is now the second largest scientific, technical and medical publisher behind Elsevier.

Susan Spilka, director of communications at Wiley, explained why Wiley went for Blackwell and not Springer, which is rumoured to be on the market. “It’s not about size; it’s about quality. We aim to be bigger and to take advantage of efficiencies.”

Campbell said there is very little overlap between the title ranges, but hinted at further acquisitions. “There are some disciplines that we still have vacant and we will look to fill these.” He added: “Together, we will be able to invest in new technology.”

Olivieri will head up a transition team with Steve Smith, European chief operating officer at Wiley. Spilka reassured Blackwell users: “The team will look at both organisations and take the best from both companies. Blackwell people will be in senior roles.”

Campbell concurred: “We are in a position of strength. Had we been going down the pan, it would have been a fast sale.”

Founded in 1922, Blackwell has a long history and powerful loyalty among its authors and users. Spilka was quick to point out that the Blackwell brand will live on “in combination with Wiley”.

Like this story? Spread the news by clicking below:

 del.icio.us     Digg this     reddit!