The ownership arrangement for ProQuest has undergone a major change. The investment firm Atairos has made a major investment in the company, essentially replacing Goldman Sachs as the minority owner of the company. Cambridge Information Group (CIG) acquired ProQuest in 2007 and continues as its majority investor.
CIG is a management and investment firm owned by the family of Robert N. Snyder. Andrew M. Snyder currently serves the Chief Executive Officer of CIG and as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of ProQuest. In addition to ProQuest, the business portfolio of CIG includes the Sotheby's Institute of Art, the Bach to Rock system of music schools, and The School of the New York Times. CIG currently has investments in another set of diverse companies including Newsela, a news service for K-12 schools, Hammond's candies, and the RailRaiders, a minor league baseball team in Scranton, PA.
Throughout its ownership of ProQuest, CIG has partnered with other investment firms. The initial acquisition of ProQuest that concluded in February 2007 involved the majority ownership by CIG, with ABREY Partners also making a substantial investment with a minority ownership stake. Their combined investment totaled $222 million. In November 2013, Goldman Sachs purchased a stake in ProQuest, replacing ABRY Partners as its minority investor.
In this recent transaction, Atairos has made a substantial investment in ProQuest, gaining a minority position. This investment enables ProQuest to purchase most of the shares of the company previously held by Goldman Sachs, which will now hold a remnant stake in the company. The specific investment amounts were not publicly disclosed.
Matti Shem Tov serves as ProQuest's Chief Executive Officer. Shem Tov was formerly CEO of Ex Libris and was named CEO for all of ProQuest in May 2017. Ex Libris was acquired by ProQuest in December 2015. Other former Ex Libris executives holding senior positions for ProQuest include Yair Amsterdam, Chief Operating Officer and Oren Beit-Arie, Chief Strategy Officer.
The ownership structure of ProQuest includes both private family ownership and external investment firms. In the twelve years since it was acquired by CIG, the company has grown through a series of acquisitions including Dialog (2008), RefWorks (Feb 2008), ebrary (Jan 2011), Ebook Library (May 2013), SIPX (April 2015), Coutts Information Services and MyiLibrary (June 2015), and Ex Libris (Dec 2015).
