We’ve already reported this? as hav others but Information Today can always be relied upon for better background than the likes of us
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Here the introduction and link to the piece
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Bloomberg Continues March to Washington With BNA Deal
An earthquake, a hurricane, and a proposal by Bloomberg to buy BNA all hit Washington, D.C., in the same week. The earthquake and the hurricane were just passing through, but Bloomberg seems to have more serious intentions of staying.
In a press release and blog post issued the morning of Aug. 25, Bloomberg L.P., a New York firm, announced plans to acquire The Bureau of National Affairs Inc. (BNA), an employee-owned publishing company in the D.C. area. In ?Questions and Answers Related to Bloomberg?s Acquisition of BNA,? a document accompanying the press release, Bloomberg says that the company ?anticipates that the transaction will close later in 2011, subject to regulatory approvals and successful completion of the Offer and Merger.? The Q&A document also states that after the purchase, ?BNA would retain its name and remain a stand-alone subsidiary within the Bloomberg family, operating from its current location under existing management.? Bloomberg is offering about $990 million in cash for the purchase.
Bloomberg has been a high-end financial information powerhouse since its start in 1981. However, business and finance do not happen in a vacuum, and recent moves by the company recognize the importance of legislative, regulatory, and judicial information to business decision making.
Other companies in this niche have much longer histories than Bloomberg?histories, albeit, gained through acquisitions. Thomson West traces its lineage to West Publishing, founded in the 1870s. LexisNexis got its start as a product of Mead Data Central in the 1970s but acquired 19th century brands such as Martindale-Hubbell and Shepard?s Citations. Wolters Kluwer, founded in the Netherlands in 1836, moved into the U.S. market with the acquisition of CCH (the old Commerce Clearing House), a company that itself was the product of a 1927 acquisition.
