The statement reads: "The Board of Informa plc notes the press speculation regarding a potential acquisition by Informa of Springer Science + Business Media, whose principal shareholders are Cinven and Candover.
Informa confirms that it is in discussions with the Shareholders about acquiring Springer.
Informa has been given access to due diligence materials to enable it to be in a position to make a formal proposal to the Shareholders. There can be no certainty agreement will be reached with the Shareholders on terms that are acceptable to the Board of Informa.
Combining Springer and Informa would bring together two highly respected and profitable academic publishers that would be positioned to take advantage of the opportunities in their core fields of Scientific, Technical and Medical (STM), and Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), respectively. On the right terms, an acquisition of Springer would be an important strategic step for Informa and one that would be expected to generate significant value for Informa shareholders.
The combination would be expected to generate significant synergy benefits from rationalisation of the combined cost base plus improved marketing and operating efficiencies. The enhanced journal and book portfolio, together with synergies, would drive sustainable growth and value for Informa’s shareholders. The Springer business, like Informa, has strong cash generation and resilience and would thereby enhance the Group’s cash and earnings visibility.
The Board remains committed to a strong financial structure for the Informa group.
A further announcement will be made in due course."
