Thomson Learning on the Block; Who'll Buy Thomson Gale?
-- Library Journal, 10/27/2006
Rumors that had surfaced months ago about the possible sale of Thomson Gale have proven solid, as the Thomson Corporation announced plans to reorganize and sell its Thomson Learning Division, including the Thomson Gale subsidiary. The move could net the company $5 billion and allow it to expand its legal, financial, and scientific information business, according to the Wall Street Journal. Though Thomson Learning generated $2.3 billion in revenue and operating income last year, apparently the relatively sluggish growth of its electronic businesses prompted the parent company to focus on faster-growing subsidaries. Besides Thomson Gale, other subsidiaries on the block will be Prometric, Wadsworth, and Delmar Learning. The sale will proceed via an auction in the first quarter of 2007; potential buyers for Thomson Gale could include ProQuest, EBSCO, and H.W. Wilson.
Thomson Gale creates and maintains more than 600 databases that are published in various formats. Its publishing imprints include Macmillan Reference USA™, Charles Scribner's Sons®, Primary Source Microfilm™, and Scholarly Resources Inc. Major brands include InfoTrac, Gale Virtual Reference Library (the company's eBook platform), and digital collections such as Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Thomson Gale also sponsors the annual Gale/LJ Library of the Year award.
