Springer Science + Business Explores Sale, IPO, Hires Banks -Sources

   By Jessica Hodgson 
 

LONDON--Springer Science + Business Media, the world's second-largest publisher of scientific research journals, has hired JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) to undertake a strategic review in a move which could see the company being sold or floated, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

Springer Science + Business, which publishes journals for mathematicians and scientists, is owned by Swedish private equity group EQT and the Government Investment Corporation of Singapore, which bought the company in 2009 from British private equity groups Cinven and Candover.

EQT and GIC have hired JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs to pursue "strategic options", the people said, and will look at a range of options including an initial public offering, a sale and a possible refinancing. The people stress that the process is at an early stage and no sale memoranda have yet been sent to interested parties.

EQT didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the process.

The possible sale of Springer Science + Business--which was originally formed out of a unit of German media giant Bertelsmann which was later merged with a unit of Dutch publisher Wolters Kluwer NV--raises the possibility that it could fall back into the hands of Bertelsmann. People familiar with the matter say Bertelsmann is interested in academic publishing and may review sale documents, although it isn't known whether the company will actually bid for Springer.

Springer's adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization for 2011--the last period for which published information was available--were EUR313.3 million, on revenue of EUR875 million, according to the company's annual report.

Informa PLC (INF.LN), another major information publisher, based in the U.K., could also bid for Springer, one person said, in a situation which could reverse previous bid interest in Informa by Springer itself. The two companies have over the past decade been engaged in tit-for-tat bid activity. In 2006 Springer, under ownership by Candover and Cinven, offered 630 pence per share for Informa, but was rejected. And in 2009, Informa made an offer for Springer but later withdrew, saying it couldn't agree a deal in the time required by the company's owners. A spokesman for Informa Group declined to comment on whether they will make an offer.

Reed Elsevier, the world's largest academic publisher, isn't likely to bid for the asset, analysts and bankers said. The company didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.

Morgan Stanley, in a note published in June, suggested that an acquisition of Springer by a larger third-party could prompt a wave of consolidation across the publishing industry which could see Informa also being acquired.

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