Transaction will further strengthen Wolters Kluwer's leadership position in the European legal information solutions market

July 22, 2014 - Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory today announced it has signed an agreement to acquire the LexisNexis legal business in Poland from Reed Elsevier. The acquisition will extend Wolters Kluwer's portfolio of high-quality digital information offerings for the Polish law firm, government, and corporate segments.

Simultaneously, Wolters Kluwer also announced that it has signed an agreement to divest its Canadian legal publishing activities to Reed Elsevier. The Canadian legal assets to be sold include print and online information products for law firms, corporate counsel, and human resources professionals, of which a portion are French Canadian legal products consolidated within our Tax & Accounting results.

Wolters Kluwer expects the acquisition to generate a return above our cost of capital within three to five years.

"We are pleased to have reached this agreement with LexisNexis. The transaction supports the Legal & Regulatory Division's strategy to concentrate investment on our core markets where opportunities for long-term growth are the greatest," said Legal & Regulatory Division CEO Stacey Caywood.

The LexisNexis legal business in Poland has approximately 120 employees, and the Wolters Kluwer legal business in Canada has approximately 50 employees.