Toronto, March 18. Following the acquisition of John Smiths by Coutts Information Services Ltd in December 2001 and the acquisition of Martinus Nijhoff by Swets Blackwell in August 2001, today Coutts and Swets announced an agreement whereby Swets will take over the John Smith journal subscription business and Coutts will merge the Martinus Nijhoff books business into its Library Supply Operation.
In the short term, the priority for both Coutts and Swets is to ensure that customers are kept informed of developments and there are no interruptions to services. Ultimately, the combination of the strength of these two companies in their specialised fields will allow for more focused investment. This will result in an even better combination of services to ensure enhanced customer satisfaction.
Martius Nijhoff was founded in the Hague in 1853. From its beginnings as a small shop, Nijhoff's activities were broadened in the ensuing years to include the serving of library markets around the world. John Smith & Son, founded in 1751, is the oldest independent booksellers in Scotland. It supplies books to libraries world-wide and runs a chain of award winning academic bookshops. Both companies carry with them expertise and knowledge of their markets along with a tradition of excellent customer service.
James Gray, Chief Executive, Coutts, says "We are delighted to announce the inclusion of Martinus Nijhoff into our Library Supply Operation. This is a positive step into gaining a larger share of the European market and we are looking forward to developing this sector of our business. We now want to ensure that all customers receive even better services as a result of the acquisition".
Martijn Adorf, European Director, Swets Blackwell, comments "We are very pleased to have acquired the journal subscriptions business from John Smith. The addition of their prestigious clients will complement and solidify our existing customer base".
