Karnov Group assumes ownership of carved out legal information-based businesses of both Thomson Reuters in Spain and Wolters Kluwer in Spain, Portugal and France
Karnov Group AB (publ) has today completed the acquisition of carved out legal information-based businesses of both Thomson Reuters in Spain and Wolters Kluwer in Spain, France and Portugal (together “Region South”) and assumed full ownership of the local entities[1]. Region South is now consolidated in the Group’s financial statements. Onwards, Karnov Group will have three reporting segments: Region South, Region North and Group functions.
On 9 December 2021, Karnov Group announced placement of a binding offer to acquire the entire share capital and voting rights of Wolters Kluwer France S.A.S (“Wolters Kluwer France”), Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory España, S.A. (“Wolters Kluwer Spain”), Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory Portugal (“Wolters Kluwer Portugal”) and Editorial Aranzadi S.A.U. (“Thomson Reuters Spain”) and certain subsidiaries and the transfer of certain IP rights[2] for a cash consideration of approximately EUR 160 million on a cash- and debt-free basis. The share purchase agreement was signed on 25 February 2022 and Karnov Group received clearance from the Spanish Antitrust Authority to complete the acquisition on 3 November 2022.
The acquisition transforms Karnov Group from one of the leaders in the Nordic markets for legal information services to a European player with strong market presence in Spain and France. The acquired entities entail very well-known brands within the segments of legal information & reference, workflow & analytics, and training spaces in Spain and France. Karnov Group will operate under the brand Aranzadi LA LEY in Spain, Jusnet in Portugal and Lamy Liaisons in France.
For more information, please contact:
Pontus Bodelsson, President and CEO
Telephone: +46 709 957 002
Email: pontus.bodelsson@karnovgroup.com
Erik Berggren, Head of Investor Relations
Telephone: +46 707 597 668
Email: erik.berggren@karnovgroup.com
This information was submitted for publication on 30 November 2022 at 15:00 CET.
Karnov Group clears the path to justice, providing mission critical knowledge and workflow solutions to European professionals in the areas of legal, tax and accounting, and environmental, health and safety. With content provided by over 7,000 well-renowned authors and experts, Karnov Group delivers knowledge and insights, enabling more than 500,000 users to make better decisions, faster – every day. With offices in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, France, Spain and Portugal, Karnov Group employs around 1,300 people. The Karnov share is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, Mid Cap segment under the ticker “KAR”. For more information, please visit www.karnovgroup.com.
[1] The acquisition entails 100% of the shares in Wolters Kluwer France, Wolters Kluwer Spain, Thomson Reuters Spain and the subsidiaries, Wolters Kluwer Formación, S.A. and Wolters Kluwer Portugal Unipessoal, LDA.
[2] Transfer of certain IP rights between Wolters Kluwer International Holding B.V., Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Luxembourg SA, Holding Wolters Kluwer France S.A.S., Thomson Reuters Holdings B.V. and Thomson Reuters Enterprise Centre GmbH.