ANN ARBOR — The Ann Arbor information services provider ProQuest said it had signed an agreement to acquire Coutts Information Services Ltd. from La Vergne, Tenn.-based Ingram Content Group Inc.
Terms were not disclosed.
Coutts provides print and electronic content and other programs and services to more than 5,000 academic and professional libraries in more than 150 nations around the world. Its products include the MyiLibrary and Oasis platforms. Coutts has 170 employees.
The acquisition will give ProQuest the ability to supply not only ebooks but paper books to libraries. ProQuest officials said that means libraries will be able to buy both ebooks and print through a single workflow, saving time and effort.
Ingram will continue to provide print fulfillment to Coutts under ProQuest ownership, preserving fast delivery through Ingram’s print-on-demand service.
“ProQuest has been innovating ebook workflows and systems by bringing together the best mix of titles, talent and technology,” said Kurt Sanford, ProQuest CEO. “With Coutts and MyiLibrary joining ProQuest, we’ll accelerate these advancements by creating fully integrated workflows and improved user experiences that span print and digital.”
More about the acquisition at http://bit.ly/PQandCoutts.
ProQuest says its plans include development of a fully integrated book service with simple, efficient workflows for print and electronic. Librarians will gain flexibility to build dynamic collections that meet the unique needs of their community of researchers.
The acquisition will not impact ProQuest’s support of strategic partnerships or ebook initiatives already in place. The company is committed to keeping the Coutts and ProQuest networks as open as possible, supporting the many platforms and partners that give librarians choices in how they acquire and manage content. The debut of ProQuest’s powerful new Ebook Central continues on schedule for mid-2015.
Coutts staff members in La Vergne, Tenn., Ringwood, United Kingdom, and Nijhoff, The Netherlands, along with sales and collections associates located remotely, will be invited to join the ProQuest team, led by Kevin Sayar, ProQuest senior vice-president and general manager, Books. ProQuest will also take ownership of the Ringwood and Nijhoff facilities.