Amsterdam -- 6 December 2002. Elsevier Science has announced plans to expand its European presence through the proposed acquisition of Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck's German STM business. The two companies have agreed the acquisition in principle, subject to the approval of the national competition authorities in Germany and Austria.

The proposed acquisition will bring Elsevier Science a particularly strong position in the market for medical science publishing in Germany through the integration of Holtzbrink's Urban & Fisher into its existing global health science publishing operations.

As well as Urban & Fischer, Elsevier Science plans to buy Holtzbrink's science and technology publisher Spectrum Akademischer Verlag, the medical mail-order service Rothacker and Servicecenter Fachverlage, a fulfilment and distribution service provider for professional publishers. Together, these companies had a combined turnover in 2001 of €57 million and employ about 350 people. The business units are located primarily in Munich, Jena, Heidelberg, and Tübingen.

Derk Haank, CEO of Elsevier Science says: "We are confident that this acquisition represents a distinctive opportunity to acquire a meaningful position in the German language medical publishing market and to further strengthen Elsevier Science's product portfolio in the science, technology and medical markets. The acquired companies have a well renowned portfolio of publications with a long heritage in the German market. The combined assets of Elsevier Science and the German STM businesses will provide ample opportunity for growth in both the German language countries and internationally."

About Elsevier Science

Elsevier Science is a leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. Working in partnership within the global science and health communities, the company publishes more than 1,800 journals and 2,200 new books per year, in addition to offering a suite of innovative electronic products, such as ScienceDirect and MDConsult, bibliographic databases, online reference works and subject specific portals.

Elsevier Science (www.elsevier.com) is headquartered in Amsterdam, with offices worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc(www.reedelsevier.com), an inn innovative information provider. Operating in the science & medical, legal, education and business information sectors, Reed Elsevier provides high-quality and flexible information solutions to users, with increasing emphasis on the Internet as a means of delivery. Reed Elsevier's ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), and RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).