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Bohn Stafleu Van Loghum is the leading multi-media publisher in the Netherlands for professionals active in the health sector, including: general practitioners, specialists, dentists, paramedical staff, nurses, doctors, as well as mental welfare and social workers. Alongside traditional products such as books, magazines and newsletters, its product range is also comprised of professional courses, workshops, electronic products (CD-ROMs), online databases and internet services.
Well-known publications of BSL include 'Nederlands tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde', 'Verpleegkundenieuws' and 'Maandblad voor de Geestelijke Volksgezondheid'. The company has developed important contacts with leading industry and professional associations in the Dutch healthcare sector, such as 'Nederlands Huisartsen Genootschap', 'College voor Zorgverzekeringen' en 'Trimbos Instituut'.
PCM Algemene Boeken consists of well-known operating companies such as Bruna (trade books), Prometheus/Bert Bakker (literary publisher), J.M. Meulenhoff (literary publisher), and Spectrum (fiction, non-fiction). PCM Uitgevers is one of the largest publishers in the Dutch-language region with 3,600 employees and annual sales of around EUR 730 million. Its core activities are the production of daily newspapers, free newspapers, books, and educational publications (ThiemeMeulenhoff). PCM publishes four of the five national daily titles (Algemeen Dagblad, NRC Handelsblad, de Volkskrant, Trouw).
The sale of BSL is a result of the sharpened portfolio of Wolters Kluwer Legal, Tax & Business Europe. LTB Europe will, as announced in August last year, focus its activities on six customer segments with a highly regulatory content: legal; fiscal/financial; human resources; public & government administration; health, safety & environment (HSE) and transport. As a consequence, Wolters Kluwer will only invest its resources in activities that fit within these segments. Integrating the Dutch-language healthcare publisher into Wolters Kluwer's Health cluster was not an option because Wolters Kluwer Health focuses on global health markets. Wolters Kluwer, therefore, decided to find another home for BSL.
'I am very pleased that we were able to find a strategic buyer of the caliber of PCM', says Jean-Marc Detailleur, member of the Executive Board of Wolters Kluwer responsible for LTB Europe. 'It is clear that BSL's activities are an excellent fit with PCM. This new parent will be willing to invest and will be able to capitalize on the excellent job of our employees who have made BSL the leading healthcare publisher in the Netherlands. The expertise and knowledge of our former staff are clearly adding value to their new parent organization, and I am convinced that PCM will provide our BSL employees with a good home. At the same time, Wolters Kluwer can proceed with investing in new growth opportunities within its European cluster'.
'There is no doubt that BSL will be able to further strengthen our competence in the fields of publishing for target groups and subscription based publishing', says Mai Spijkers, Managing Director of PCM Algemene Boeken.
'Furthermore, I am convinced that we will be able to underpin the content of BSL by adding our expertise in consumer and educational markets to its portfolio. PCM Algemene Boeken is a strong leader in the consumer market with books about healthcare and welfare, and has a strong position in the educational market with reference books and dictionaries. ThiemeMeulenhoff can also add value to BSL with its knowledge in the area of teaching methods.'
Employees, their representative bodies, and unions have been informed and the consultation procedures will commence shortly. The transaction is subject to the relevant regulatory approvals. |