By Hannah Johnson
Springer Science and Business Media will merge with the majority of Holtzbrinck-owned Macmillan Science and Education to form a global publishing group with annual sales of 1.5 billion euros and 13,000 employees.
Holtzbrinck and BC Partners (a private equity firm which owns Springer Science and Business Media) will jointly own and operate the new publishing group, with Holtzbrinck retaining a 53% controlling share.
The merger will include the entire Springer Science and Business media portfolio, along with a majority of the businesses operating under Macmillan Science and Education (including the Nature Publishing Group, Palgrave Macmillan, and the global businesses of Macmillan Education).
“By sharing the same vision, by combining creativity and innovation, and by enlarging scale, the merger of these highly prestigious publishing houses will meet the desires and expectations of our customers with diligence, care and speed,” said Stefan von Holtzbrinck, CEO of the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group.
Ewald Walgenback, Managing Partner of BC Partners added that “A platform is being created that will enrich the world of scientific research and which will be able to serve all relevant markets internationally.”
The deal is subject to approval by competition authorities, and is expected to close in the first half of 2015.