BC Partners to buy German publisher Springer Science+Business Media for $4.4 bn

Private equity firm BC Partners today disclosed it is buying German publisher Springer Science+Business Media for about €3.3 billion ($4.4 billion).

Springer's owners, Swedish private equity firm EQT and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) were planning an initial public offering, after BC Partners remained the last bidder last week.

EQT and GIC were accepting takeover offers despite saying on 5 June that they plan to raise about €760 million in an IPO for Springer, which would start trading in Frankfurt before the European summer break. (See: Springer Science+Business Media opts for IPO instead of sale)

Stockholm-based EQT had teamed up with GIC in 2009 to buy 82 per cent and 18 per cent of Springer respectively from British private equity firms Candover and Cinven.

Berlin-based Springer publishes 2,200 English-language journals and more than 8,000 new book titles every year across five main fields that include science, business, and transport.

The company is also a leader in publishing online journals, e-books, professional services materials and open access publishing.

In 1842, Julius Springer founded what is now Springer Science+Business Media. The first of Julius Springer's ventures was a bookstore in Berlin, followed by the publishing house.

A E Kluwer, the other founder of the present day company, also founded his publishing house in the 19th Century in the Netherlands.

In 1999, Bertelsmann acquired a majority share in Springer-Verlag.

In 2003, British financial investors Cinven and Candover acquired Kluwer Academic Publishers and BertelsmannSpringer, and merged them in 2004.

Its main competitors are Anglo-Dutch publisher Reed Elsevier and Dutch Wolters Kluwer, and has an annual turnover of turnover of €981million.

BC Partners said that it plans to support the continued growth of Springer globally by further expanding its core subscription business as well as focusing on traditionally high-growth areas such as open access publishing and emerging markets.

Ewald Walgenbach, managing partner at BC Partners, said,"The company has been one of the most innovative in its field in terms of developing new ways to distribute and access high quality publications. Its international footprint offers attractive opportunities and it is positioned to benefit from the growth of the knowledge economy worldwide.''

''We share a vision with BC Partners for the future of Springer and believe the new investment will add significant value to our business and its continued growth prospects. My colleagues on Springer's management team and I are looking forward to working closely with our new partners to combine our expertise to facilitate continued growth over the years ahead,'' said Derk Haank, CEO of Springer.