Press Release re. Kluwer/Springer merger

[Ann Okerson <ann.okerson@yale.edu>]

KLUWER AND SPRINGER JOINT RELEASE

PRESS RELEASE

Merger of Springer Science+Business Media and Kluwer Academic Publishers 
to begin spring 2004   

Transaction of BertelsmannSpringer legally completes today / As of the
Frankfurt Bookfair 2003 to be renamed Springer Science+Business Media

Berlin/ Dordrecht, NL -- September 16, 2003

The announced merger of Springer Science+Business Media and Kluwer
Academic Publishers, owned by leading European private equity houses
Cinven and Candover, will commence in the spring of 2004. Derk Haank, who
will take on the role of CEO effective February 1, 2004, will head the new
company. Until that time, both publishing groups will continue to operate
as separate companies and under their own names. The merger will create
the second largest professional publisher in the fields of science,
technology and medicine (STM) worldwide.
 
In August, Candover and Cinven received approval from the US Department of
Justice and European Commission for the acquisition of BertelsmannSpringer
and the transaction legally completed today, September 16, 2003. At the
Frankfurt Book Fair, the publishing group BertelsmannSpringer will present
itself under its new name, Springer Science+Business Media (October 8,
2003). Cinven and Candover had already acquired Kluwer Academic Publishers
in January 2003. Together, the companies will publish 1,350 magazines and
more than 5,000 book titles each year, with revenues of about 880 million
euros.

"Through the merger of Kluwer Academic Publishers and Springer
Science+Business Media we will strengthen our market position in editorial
publishing and sales and thus be better equipped to meet the tough
competition in this business. With our new owners, we will receive the
necessary financial and strategic support that is needed for further
growth and quality leadership," stated Dr. Dietrich G�tze, member of the
management board at Springer Science+Business Media. He also emphasized
that Kluwer Academic Publishers is an innovative scientific publishing
house and, together with the Springer publishing group, will set new
standards in electronic publishing.

Peter Hendriks, CEO at Kluwer Academic Publishers, commented, "We are
delighted about the upcoming merger, and are convinced that together we
will drive our businesses forward. Our portfolios are compatible and will
complement each other in an ideal way. As a strong, new enterprise, it
will be possible to offer our worldwide customers even better information
and services. We will especially profit from the Springer publishing
group's extensive experience in the B2B segment and the practice-oriented
professional books. Until the merger takes effect, Kluwer's focus
naturally remains on serving our customers with the quality they are
accustomed to."

BertelsmannSpringer / Springer Science +Business Media is one of the
world's leading publishing groups for scientific and specialist literature
and is the market leader in Germany, far ahead of its competitors. The
group owns 70 publishing companies and publishes 700 journals and around
4,000 new book titles each year. Its key subjects include science,
medicine, economics, engineering, architecture, construction and
transport. Total sales reached 731 million euros in the year to December
2002. The company has 5,200 employees in 16 countries. On April 1, 2003,
Candover Partners Ltd and Cinven Ltd, two of the leading providers of
equity for European buyouts, acquired the specialist publishing group,
which before was a division of Bertelsmann AG.  
www.bertelsmannspringer.de

Kluwer Academic Publishers (KAP) is a leading publisher of scientific
information, specializing in numerous fields within science, technology,
medicine, humanities and social sciences. KAP provides high quality online
products and services and annually publishes 650 journals and 1200 books
featuring leading authors and researchers from around the world. Located
in Dordrecht, Boston, New York and London, the company has 550 employees.  
Turnover in 2002 was 151 million euros. The company was acquired by
Candover and Cinven in January 2003. For more information on Kluwer, visit
www.wkap.com.

Contact Information:

BertelsmannSpringer				
Sabine Schaub						
+49 (0)30 827 875 282
sabine.schaub@bertelsmann.de				

Kluwer Academic PUblishers
Petra Sprado
+31 (0)78 657 6542
petra.sprado@wkap.nl