(Berlin, 19 June 2013) EQT Partners AB (EQT) and GIC Special Investments Pte Ltd (GIC) have agreed to sell their majority stake in Springer Science+Business Media (Springer), a leading global scientific, technical and medical (STM) publisher, to the private equity firm BC Partners Limited (BC Partners). The plans for an initial public offering have been cancelled.
Derk Haank, CEO of Springer, said: “BC Partners has made an enhanced, and very attractive offer for our company. For this reason, my colleagues on the Springer Management Board and I consider this outcome in the best interest of the company, its employees, authors, editors and other stakeholders. We are a healthy, innovative and respected STM publisher and our leading position in fields such as open access, eBooks and our growing presence in emerging markets is an excellent basis for our future success.”
Springer considerably increased sales revenues and profits in 2012 and expects to continue to grow further. The group is particularly well positioned to benefit from key growth drivers in the STM market.
Read the announcement here.