Reed Elsevier subsidiary Lexis-Nexis ( www.lexis-nexis.com ) has bought the Business Information Product (BIP) division of Financial Times Electronic Publishing.
BIPs products, which are aimed at users of online business information, comprise FT Profile, FT Discovery and FT NewsWatch.
As part of the transaction, the FT Group will extend its existing licensing agreement for US and Asian markets with Lexis-Nexis to European markets, enabling Lexis-Nexis to continue to provide FT content to existing FT Profile, FT Discovery and FT NewsWatch customers, and to Lexis-Nexis customers world-wide.
Commenting on the agreement, Stephen Hill, Chief Executive of the FT Group said: “The FT Groups strategy is to be a leader in the provision of business information, comment and analysis, with a global perspective. Our historic archive services have a strong niche but lack the scale required to compete successfully in the world-wide market. In Lexis-Nexis the business will have a committed owner and can benefit from economies of scale and significant technology investment.”
Jon Webb, Managing Director of Lexis-Nexis Europe, said: “I am extremely pleased with this acquisition as the combination of BIP and Lexis-Nexis Europe will enable us to much better serve information users in Europe and leverage the assets of the Lexis-Nexis Group. This is in direct response to growing customer demands for global information and global service.”
EGi News 21/01/00
