Reed Elsevier's Acquisition of Harcourt General to be Allowed byThe Department of Justice in the U.S.

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

Forwarded by Chuck Hamaker. 

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Monday May 7, 12:52 pm Eastern Time 

Press Release

SOURCE: Reed Elsevier plc 

Reed Elsevier's Acquisition of Harcourt General to be Allowed by The
Department of Justice in the U.S.

LONDON, May 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Reed Elsevier plc today announced that the
United States Department of Justice will allow the company's proposed
acquisition of Harcourt General, Inc. to proceed without challenge. The US
Department of Justice review of the on-sale of certain Harcourt assets to
The Thomson Corporation is continuing.

Outside the United States, the acquisition has already received clearance
from the competition authorities in Germany, Austria and Ireland and now
awaits regulatory clearance only from the UK competition authorities.

Commenting on the Department of Justice's decision, Crispin Davis, Chief
Executive of Reed Elsevier, said: ``We are very pleased that this
important milestone has been passed.''

Reed Elsevier plc 

Reed Elsevier plc is a world leading publisher and information provider.
It is owned equally by its two parent companies, Reed International P.L.C
and Elsevier NV. The parent companies are listed on the London, Amsterdam
and New York Stock Exchanges, under the following ticker symbols: London:
REED; Amsterdam: ELSN; New York: RUK, ENL.

In 2000, Reed Elsevier made adjusted profit before taxation of 690 million
pounds sterling ($1,042 million) on turnover of 3,768 million pounds
($5,690 million). The group employs 27,700 people, including 14,800 in
North America.

Operating in the scientific, legal, educational and business-to-business
sectors, Reed Elsevier provides high value and flexible information
solutions to professional end users, with increasing emphasis on internet
delivery.

Further information on Reed Elsevier can be found on the company's website
at http://www.reedelsevier.com <http://www.reedelsevier.com> . 


Harcourt General Inc. 

Harcourt General Inc. is a broadband learning company and a major
participant in the growing global markets for education, assessment,
training and professional information. The company has organized its
businesses into four strategic groups, targeting specific customer sets:
Scientific Technical and Medical (STM); Kindergarten to Grade12 Education
(K-12); Higher Education; and Corporate and Professional Services

In STM, its leading brands include Academic Press, Mosby Inc. and
Churchill Livingstone (part of Harcourt Health Sciences) and MD Consult.
The Harcourt schools education portfolio includes Harcourt School
Publishers; Holt, Reinhart & Winston; Steck-Vaughn; Harcourt College
Publishers; Harcourt Learning Direct and Harcourt Educational Measurement.
Corporate and Professional Services include The Psychological Corporation,
Assessment Systems Inc. and Harcourt Learning Center.

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