Publisher Springer Science to Raise $993 Million in German IPO
From Bloomberg:
German academic publisher Springer Science & Business Media GmbH said it plans to raise about 760 million euros ($993 million) in its initial public offering.
Shares of Springer Science, controlled by Swedish buyout firm EQT Partners AB, are set to start trading in Frankfurt before the summer break, according to a statement today. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are managing the sale.”
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EQT is still accepting takeover offers for Springer Science this month and may scrap the IPO, people familiar with the matter said last week. The buyout firm hasn’t made a final decision whether to do the IPO or sell the German publisher, according to the people.
From the Financial Times
A listing is EQT’s preferred option for Springer Science, but it is still holding talks with groups potentially interested in buying the whole company in a transaction that would value Springer Science at as much as €4bn including debt. EQT and GIC jointly acquired Springer Science in 2009.
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Springer, which sells journals and databases to academic libraries and research-intensive companies, reported revenues of €976.3m in 2012, an increase of 11.6 per cent from the previous year.
Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased 12.4 per cent to €343.7m.
From Reuters:
Springer Science 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.
It competes with Anglo-Dutch publisher Reed Elsevier and Dutch company Wolters Kluwer.
Filed under: Academic Libraries, Libraries, News, Publishing

About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.