Bowker Acquired by CIG

Bowker, a leading publisher of bibliographic information and one of the most well known names in the publishing industry, has been acquired by US based Cambridge Information Group, Inc. (CIG).

Specific terms of the sale have not disclosed, but the acquisition of Bowker from Reed Elsevier became official at the end of August. As part of the acquisition, CIG is simultaneously selling a number of non-core directory products to Information Today.

CIG is a privately held company, best known for owning Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, an international publisher of bibliographic databases and print journals that primarily serves research institutions. Bowker, which publishes such titles as "Books In Print" and "Ulrich's Periodical Directory," will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Cambridge Information Group. Included in the sale to CIG are the Bowker operations in the UK and Bowker's Australian-based database publishing company, D.W. Thorpe.

"This acquisition will allow us to fully deploy some of the exciting product development strategies we have been pursuing at Bowker over the last few years," said Michael Cairns, the newly appointed general manager of R.R. Bowker. "Cambridge Information Group is an ideal partner for us because they bring to bear significant organizational resources and a deep understanding of the bibliographic publishing industry."

All articles 2006-22 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.