Wolters Kluwer Acquires IJS Publishing Group

NISO Member News

September 30, 2022

Wolters Kluwer Health announced today that it has signed and completed an agreement to acquire IJS Publishing Group (IJSPG), a UK-based provider of peer-reviewed medical journals supporting scientists and authors. The IJSPG portfolio consists of 10 journal titles, including the International Journal of Surgery (IJS), IJS Case Reports (IJSCR), and Annals of Medicine and Surgery (AMS).

IJSPG will become part of Health Learning, Research & Practice (LRP), which offers the Ovid® medical research solution, publishes over 300 medical journals and hundreds of medical and nursing books, and produces digital nursing solutions for education and practice. The acquisition expands the breadth and depth of the Lippincott journal portfolio with high impact factor, surgery-related research and strengthens its Open Access position with several well-established journals accessible in over a dozen international databases and platforms.

Vikram Savkar, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Health LRP Medicine Segment at Wolters Kluwer, stated: “Enabling contributors, clinicians, and researchers to benefit globally from research as supported by IJS Publishing Group reinforces our commitment to peer review and Open Access to deliver the best evidence for decision-making. We are committed to delivering trusted content that is discoverable and accessible to advance science and the best care everywhere.”

“For nearly 20 years, IJS Publishing Group has developed innovative and best-in-class products and services across multiple market segments. We are excited by Wolters Kluwer’s leadership in technology-driven research publishing. Its track record of results growing its Lippincott journal portfolio make it a good fit for our next phase of growth for IJSPG,” commented Dr. Riaz Agha, IJSPG Founder, CEO and Chairman and Maliha Agha, IJSPG Director.

In 2021, IJS Publishing Group generated approximately $2 million in gross revenues. Wolters Kluwer expects the investment to deliver a return on invested capital (ROIC) above its weighted cost of capital (8%) within 3-5 years and expects the transaction to have an immaterial impact on adjusted earnings.

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About Wolters Kluwer

Wolters Kluwer (WKL) is a global leader in professional information, software solutions, and services for the health, tax & accounting, governance, risk & compliance, and legal & regulatory sectors. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with specialized technology and services.