Reed And Wolters Call Off Merger

The proposed £17.5 billion merger of Reed Elsevier and Wolters Kluwer has been abandoned, it has just emerged.

A statement from Reed says that the decision was made by the boards of Reed International, Elsevier and Wolters Kluwer due to disagreements over the terms of the merger.

During the last few days Wolters Kluwer made it known to Reed that a number of terms needed to be renegotiated in order for the deal to be cleared by regulatory authorities. It was subsequently felt that this would create “adverse implications” for the deal and the move would no longer be of benefit to the companies’ respective shareholders.

Reed and Wolters Kluwer say that they will “continue to pursue their respective core strategies of growth as leading international professional publishers and information providers, through both organic development and acquisitions.”

The merger was first announced in October last year (subscribers see Reed Elsevier To Merge With Dutch Rival) and was proceeded by the sale of IPC by Reed in January this year (subscribers see IPC Magazines Gains Independence).

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