London based private equity business BC Partners is to acquire Springer Science + Business Media, from Swedish private equity group EQT Partners and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation for approximately €2.3 billion including performance components. It is Springer’s third leveraged buyout in 10 years and means it is dropping plans, only announced last month, to go public in Frankfurt.
Cinven and Candover created the company in 2003 through the €1.7bn merger of BertelsmannSpringer and Dutch publisher KAP. EQT Partners and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation acquired Springer in 2010 from Cinven and Candover for around €2.3bn, including debt. Since then, the owners have invested €304 million and Springer has improved sales by 6.4% p.a. to €981 million and EBITDA by 12.6% p.a. to €341 million in 2012. EQT Partners and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation is expected to make between 2.5 to 3 times their initial investment. They will also retain a minority interest in the company.
Springer, which competes with Reed Elsevier and Wolters Kluwer, publishes approximately 2,200 English-language journals annually and produced nearly 8,000 new book titles in 2012 in diverse fields including science, technology, medicine, commerce and transport. The Company also publishes online journals, e-books, professional services materials and open access publishing. Springer has more than 7,000 employees and reported sales of €981 million in 2012.
Ewald Walgenbach, Managing Partner at BC Partners, said, “Springer Science + Business Media is a well-established company in a growing sector and has excellent future prospects. 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 look forward to partnering with management to support the company’s growth plans over the coming years.”
BC Partners was advised by Credit Suisse, Nomura and Jefferies. Legal advice was provided by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
Germany, Hamburg & UK, London & Sweden, Stockholm
Related articles:
- EQT and GIC acquire Springer from Cinven and Candover Posted on December 11, 2009
- Wolters Kluwer completes sale of its pharma-related marketing & publishing services business to Springer Science+Business Media Posted on December 23, 2011
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