DAYTON, OH -- December 8, 2004. LexisNexis U.S., a leading provider of legal, news and business information services, said today it has acquired the assets of Florida-based Gould Publications, a top brand in law enforcement handbooks, CD ROM courses, Homeland Security publications, and training materials.

The acquisition of Gould strengthens and expands the LexisNexis law enforcement offerings to all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

"The acquisition of Gould enhances our publishing offerings with the addition of information tools law enforcement professionals use on a daily basis," said Lou Andreozzi, president and CEO of North American Legal Markets at LexisNexis. "With fifty years in this industry, Gould offers a well-respected collection that is a perfect fit with our goals for this market."

LexisNexis plans to maintain relationships with Gould's author experts and continue to offer its robust product line, including:

• Nearly 100 titles covering state criminal & vehicle traffic laws and related statues, including: California Penal Code Handbook, New Jersey Criminal Law and Motor Vehicle Handbook, and Florida Motor Vehicle Laws.
• Over 30 national law enforcement handbooks, such as: Court Decisions for Law Enforcement, Defensive Tactics for Law Enforcement, and Spanish for Law Enforcement Field Guide with Audio CD and Homeland Security Enforcement.
• Twenty-three code products including: Fish and Game Codes, Alcoholic Beverage Control Laws, and Environmental Codes.
• Many authored titles covering Drugs, Evidence, Search & Seizure, Report Writing, Management and Supervision.
• More than 40 interactive CD ROM training courses such as: High Impact Police Leadership, Law Enforcement Response to Terrorism, and Effective Courtroom Testimony.

LexisNexis will continue to offer Gould products online at www.gouldlaw.com.

Financial terms of the deal are not being disclosed.

About LexisNexis

LexisNexis (www.lexisnexis.com) is a leader in comprehensive and authoritative legal, news and business information and tailored applications. A member of Reed Elsevier Group plc [NYSE: ENL; NYSE: RUK] (www.reedelsevier.com), the company does business in 100 countries with 13,000 employees worldwide. In addition to its flagship Web-based Lexis and Nexis research services, the company includes some of the world's most respected legal publishers such as Martindale-Hubbell, Matthew Bender, Butterworths, JurisClasseur, Abeledo-Perrot and Orac.

In the United States, LexisNexis Total Research System (www.lexisnexis.com) offers an extensive range of online and print legal and regulatory information products, tools, customised Web applications and critical filing services that help legal professionals reach confident decisions and comply with the law.