Informa confirms Springer talks

24th Nov 2009 07:33

Lloyds List publisher Informa has confirmed reports it is in discussions over the possible acquisition of German publisher Springer. In a statement, Informa said it has been given access to Springer's books and will make a proposal to its shareholders, though it added no agreement on price has been reached yet.Combining Springer and Informa would bring together two highly respected and profitable academic publishers that would be positioned to take advantage of the opportunities in their core fields of Scientific, Technical and Medical (STM), and Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), respectively, it added. A deal would be expected to generate significant value for Informa shareholders and generate significant synergy benefits from rationalisation of the combined cost base plus improved marketing and operating efficiencies, the statement added. Reports today suggested that Springer's private equity owners, Candover and Cinven, had been talking about the sale of a 49% stake for €400m before Informa registered its interest.