Statement re Purchase
RM PLC
13 February 2002
13 February 2002
RM PURCHASES ELECTRONIC CONTENT ASSETS
RM plc, the leading supplier of software, systems and services to UK
educational establishments, announces that it has purchased from the WH Smith
PLC the major assets of Helicon Publishing ltd, which include electronic
reference databases and the rights to the Hutchinson branded series of
reference books. RM will pay Hodder Headline Ltd, which is a subsidiary of
WHSmith, £0.7m for the assets. This purchase is a further expansion of its
intellectual property and gives the Group ownership of high quality, online and
print reference material for its existing and future learning content products.
Helicon's electronic publishing assets comprise 22 wholly owned reference
databases containing over 21 million words and 300,000 subject entries. The
material includes highly structured and indexed encyclopaedic, cartographic,
scientific and historical data, which has been developed for delivery in online
and CD ROM formats as well as in printed form. Some of this material has
already been licensed to RM for a number of years for use in the Group's Living
Library content product. RM intends to further exploit the material to support
its Learning Alive teaching and learning content product strategy.
RM is acquiring the electronic and print publishing rights to the Hutchinson
branded series of reference products, including the Hutchinson Encyclopaedia
(the UK's leading single volume encyclopaedia) and the newly-developed
Hutchinson Children's Encyclopaedia. Hodder Headline Ltd, WHSmith's principal
publishing company, will license from RM the print publishing rights for
existing Hutchinson titles for an agreed period of time. RM retains the rights
to publish other printed materials derived from the Helicon databases.
In addition, RM is acquiring digitisation and electronic publishing rights for
a limited number of current Hodder Headline education and reference titles.
RM is acquiring a number of online publishing contracts and eight of Helicon's
staff, who manage and maintain the databases, will relocate to RM's head office
in Milton Park, Abingdon.
Commenting on the purchase Tim Pearson, RM's Chief Executive, said,
'Helicon has excellent intellectual property assets, which have been developed
specifically for electronic and online environments and will be particularly
valuable in RM's primary and secondary schools markets. I believe that RM can
exploit the assets effectively - both in their own right and as part of our
future Learning Alive strategy.'
- ends -
For further information, please contact:
Tim Pearson/ Phil Hemmings, RM plc 08709 200 200
Andrew Fenwick/Fiona Fong, Brunswick 020 7404 5959
Notes to editors
Helicon Publishing was founded in Oxford in 1992 through a management buy out
of the Hutchinson Reference Division of Random House UK. From 1997 to 1999,
Helicon was listed on AIM. In 1999 it was acquired by WHSmith. WHSmith
recently indicated that they intended to dispose of Helicon.
The CD ROM version of Helicon's Hutchinson Encyclopaedia was one of the first
successful electronic reference titles.
The Hutchinson reference titles that RM has acquired rights to include
Hutchinson Encyclopaedia, the Hutchinson Children's Encyclopaedia, Hutchinson
Kings & Queens of Great Britain, Hutchinson Milestones in World History,
Hutchinson Concise World Atlas, Hutchinson Dictionary of Science, Hutchinson
Companion Encyclopaedia of Mathematics, Hutchinson GCSE Revision Book and
Hutchinson Pocket Dictionary of Maths and Everyday Numbers.
Learning Alive
RM's Learning Alive applies the latest technology, including interactive
whiteboards and specialist software, to engage and motive pupils and help
teachers teach specific subjects on a whole class level. MathsAlive is the
first product available providing interactive teaching content and tools to
teach Key Stage 3 Mathematics. The MathsAlive pilot developed under contract
to the DfES was extremely successful with independent research showing that the
product can add significant value. The concept is being applied to other
subjects and product development is underway in French and Science.
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