EQT Partners AB (EQT) and GIC Special Investments Pte Ltd (GIC) have agreed to sell their majority stake in Springer Science+Business Media (Springer), a global scientific, technical and medical (STM) publisher, to the private equity firm BC Partners Limited (BC Partners). The plans for an initial public offering have been cancelled.
Springer considerably increased sales revenues and profits in 2012 and expects to continue to grow further. The group is particularly well positioned to benefit from key growth drivers in the STM market.
Springer provides researchers in academia, scientific institutions and corporate R&D departments with quality content via innovative information products and services. The company is also a trusted local-language publisher in Europe – especially in Germany and the Netherlands – primarily for physicians and professionals working in healthcare and road safety education. Springer published roughly 2,200 English-language journals and more than 8,000 new books in 2012, and the group is home to the world's largest STM eBook collection, as well as the most comprehensive portfolio of open access journals. It employs more than 7,000 individuals across the globe.
