Thomson Reuters seeks owner for $1B/year, Phila-based IP unit (ex-ISI)
Deal expected this fall, says CEO Smith
Thomson Reuters, the $12 billion (yearly sales) financial, legal, science and news publisher, plans to sell its Intellectual Property & Science unit, including its Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia offices. Thomson Reuters has reported modest recent growth for the $1 billion (yearly sales) unit, headed since last year by veteran Vin Caraher. See Thomson Reuters Feb. 11 financial statement here.
Thomson Reuters said last fall it is seeking "strategic options" for the group. Potential buyers could include Wolters Kluwer and Reed Elsevier (which also have Philadelphia-area operations) and other big publishers, according to an industry source. CEO James Smith said a deal is expected this fall or winter, Wall St. Journal reported here.
The business includes several companies acquired by Thomson Reuters over the years, spokesman David Crundwell told me.
The company's presence in Philadelphia dates to what was then Thomson Corp.'s acquisition of the former University City-based Institute for Scientific Information in 1992. From its former home at 3501 Market St., in a building whose facade resembled an old-fashioned computer punch-card, ISI's predominantly female workforce developed an authoritative early database of scientific publications and citations. (Spelling correcte)