AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands, Sept. 15, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Wolters Kluwer, a leading multinational publisher and information services company, and Sdu, a provider of professional information services in the Netherlands and Germany, announce today the completion of the merger of the majority of trade publisher ten Hagen & Stam's activities into Sdu Uitgevers.
Wolters Kluwer and Sdu announced the agreement in principle in April this year. After detailing the transaction and receiving a positive recommendation from the representative bodies, as well as the required approval of the Dutch regulatory body, the merger was successfully completed today.
The ten Hagen & Stam's business activities no longer matched Wolters Kluwer's strategy. The agreement concerns the merger of the business activities Construction, ICT and part of the Industry units, with Cobouw, Automatisering Gids and NBD as some of its most well known brands. The integration also includes parts of the service units and staff services, bringing the total number of employees that will join Sdu Uitgevers to 294, with revenues for full year 2003 of approximately EUR 60 million.
The remaining ten Hagen & Stam activities will remain an independent part of Wolters Kluwer. This includes the publications Vraag & Aanbod, Automobiel Magazine and Schuttevaer, with a total of 93 employees.
In exchange for the ten Hagen & Stam activities, Wolters Kluwer received a minority share interest in Sdu Uitgevers and a non-disclosed cash amount. The share interest serves primarily as a means of financing the transaction, as well as supporting the future success of ten Hagen & Stam as part of Sdu Uitgevers.
"Our discussions with Sdu have been very effective and the result is a smooth and successful completion of the merger, states Boudewijn Beerkens, CFO and member of the Executive Board of Wolters Kluwer.
Bert Jongsma, Chairman of the Executive Board of Sdu, remarks, "I am very pleased with the transaction, and look forward to creating more growth for Sdu. Ten Hagen & Stam represents reinforcement for Sdu Uitgevers: both in terms of better positioning our publishing activities in the field of law and practice and the Academic Service ICT-list. In addition, the construction publishing units constitute a significant expansion for us."
Sdu's strategy is based on growth in its existing business and adjacent professional and educational markets in the Netherlands and surrounding countries. Ten Hagen & Stam's activities offer Sdu Uitgevers the opportunity to expand its business in a number of fields, as well as enabling organic growth and synergy in product development, marketing and services.
About Wolters Kluwer
Wolters Kluwer is a leading multinational publisher and information services company. The Company's core markets are in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, legal and regulatory, and education sectors. As of 2003, Wolters Kluwer has annual revenues of EUR 3.4 billion, employs approximately 18,750 people worldwide, and maintains operations across Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Its depositary receipts are quoted on the Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices.
Media Caroline Wouters Vice President, Corporate Communications Wolters Kluwer nv t + 31 (0)20 6070 459 press@wolterskluwer.com Investors/Analysts Oya Yavuz Vice President, Investor Relations Wolters Kluwer nv t + 31 (0)20 6070 407 ir@wolterskluwer.com www.wolterskluwer.com www.tenhagenstam.nl
About Sdu
Sdu is a provider of various information services. Releasing, facilitating and securing (digital) information are central to these services. Sdu Uitgevers bv is a subsidiary of Sdu and publishes primarily government and legal information for professionals. Besides joint ventures with Sdu Fiscale en Financiele Uitgevers and VNG Uitgeverij, Sdu includes Academic Service and Uitgeverij Nieuwezijds, as well as a cooperation with juris, the main provider of legal information online in Germany. Sdu offers identification services, such as Dutch passports, via Sdu Identification. Annual revenues in 2003 were approximately EUR 150 million. The company has around 800 employees.
Media Sam van Oostrom Director Sdu Uitgevers t +31 (0)70 3789 250 s.v.oostrom@sdu.nl www.sdu.nl