InfoTech: Leeds Equity Partners Buys Ex Libris

Michael Rogers -- Library Journal, 8/7/2008 6:27:00 AM

• NY private equity firm focuses on information industries
• Purchase follows return of Carl Grant as president

Leeds Equity Partners, a NY-based private equity firm, has purchased the Ex Libris Group for an undisclosed sum. Leeds is described as “the largest private equity fund in the United States focused on investments in the education, training, and related business services and information industries.” The acquisition comes on the heels of word that the vendor’s former president Carl Grant was returning to that post after departing in 2003 to start his own business CARE Affiliates, which recently was purchased by LibLime. Grant, a librarian, has been Ex Libris North America president from 1998 to 2003 and was responsible for vastly growing the company’s business during his tenure.

“Like the world around libraries and libraries themselves, Ex Libris is changing rapidly and the announcements of the last week certainly underscored that fact,” Grant told LJ. “Of course, I’m delighted to be a part of those changes and to do so as new ownership takes place and as an enhanced open platform and product strategy debuted at our ELUNA user group meeting in Long Beach. Leeds Equity Partners are heavily invested in educational technology companies and they bring both the expertise and resources that will help us carry these ideas forward. For libraries, these changes mean a healthy, stable, strong vendor lead by an experienced management team delivering exciting new products while maintaining and enhancing existing products.”