ProQuest acquires ebrary, LexisNexis lines, adds 100 jobs

Plenty of Ann Arbor's companies have been acquisition targets in recent months, but Proquest has been on the other end of the deals this year. The firm has been on an acquisition spree in recent years, including two more purchases in the last two months.

Its acquisitions of e-book pioneer ebrary and the Congressional Information Service and University Publications of America product lines from LexisNexis have allowed it to notch double-digit growth in the last four years, after becoming a subsidiary of the Cambridge Information Group. ProQuest has grown its Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti staffs by 100 people, to reach a headcount of 585.

"Our growth has been extraordinary," says Elliot Forsyth, senior vice president of human resources for ProQuest. "We have grown in excess of 60 percent."

ProQuest focuses on offering specialized information electronically to researchers at every level, from grade school to commercial. The ebrary and LexisNexis-line acquisitions are expected to strengthen its product line for researchers.

"Our vision is to become central to researchers around the world," Forsyth says. "Our strength has been in journals, dissertations, and newspapers."

Source: Elliot Forsyth, senior vice president of human resources for ProQuest
Writer: Jon Zemke

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