U.K.—based Taylor & Francis has agreed to acquire CRC Press from Information Holdings Inc. T&F is paying $95 million for CRC, which had revenue of $51.7 million and pretax profits of $6.8 million in 2002.
CRC specializes in science, engineering and medical titles. It published 32 journals and 350 new books in 2002 and has a backlist of 6,000 titles. The company, which has 250 employees, has offices in Boca Raton, Fla.; New York City; and Washington, D.C., along with its U.K. offices in London and Lancaster. David Smith, chief executive of T&F, said the purchase meets T&F's twin goals of expanding its STM business in the U.S. and increasing its worldwide revenue and earnings through acquisitions and internal growth.
T&F has acquired eight businesses over the past five years, including the recent purchase of Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. The CRC purchase gives a significant boost to T&F's presence in the American professional publishing market. In 2001, the U.S. accounted for £26.8 million of T&F's total revenue of £137 million.
