Contact: Beth Dempsey, for ProQuest
248.349.7810 or beth@bethdempsey.com
For Immediate Release
PROQUEST SIGNS AGREEMENT TO
ACQUIRE DIALOG BUSINESS FROM THOMSON REUTERS
ANN ARBOR, Mich., June 12, 2008 -- ProQuest, a Cambridge Information
Group company, has signed an agreement under which ProQuest
would acquire the Thomson Reuters Dialog® business. The
transaction is expected to close pending a successful completion
of the formal consultation period and other customary closing
conditions. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.
The acquisition of Dialog® would allow ProQuest to deepen
its penetration in the corporate library and professional research
markets with a valued brand, authoritative content and precision
search tools.
"Dialog is a highly respected source of information and
a trusted brand for libraries, so it is an exceptionally good
fit in the ProQuest family," said ProQuest CEO Marty Kahn. "The
companies' content and market strengths complement each other
and just as important is the match with our values -- we share
a deep understanding of the library community and commitment
to serving it with high-quality information tools."
Dialog would continue to be an important distribution channel
for Thomson Reuters content after the transaction. Derwent World
Patents Index (DWPI), Investext, TrademarkScan, SciSearch® and
BIOSIS are among the many business-critical databases that will
remain available through the Dialog services.
"Both ProQuest and Thomson Reuters understand the valuable
role of Dialog in the information industry," said Mr. Kahn.
"During this interim period, we feel absolutely confident that
Thomson Reuters will continue to provide customers with the
high level of support and service they have come to expect."
Founded 40 years ago by Roger Summit, Dialog was the world's
first online information retrieval system to be used globally
with commercially important databases. Dialog online-based information
services help organizations across the globe to seek competitive
advantages in such fields as business, science, engineering,
finance and law. The Dialog portfolio of products and services,
including Dialog® and DataStar®, offers organizations
the ability to precisely retrieve data from more than 1.4 billion
unique records of key information, accessible via the Internet.
With direct operations in 27 countries, Dialog products and
services are a combination of highly accurate online research
tools offering access to unique and relevant databases designed
to meet the specific needs of its wide range of users. Information
professionals and end-users within business, professional and
government organizations in more than 100 countries value Dialog
services to meet their searching needs.
ProQuest plans for the Dialog business include refreshing its
platforms, evolving them to meet the needs of today's information
professional, as well as exploring new products and renovating
existing products. For more information about the ProQuest family
of information brands and products, visit www.proquest.com.
# # #