ANN ARBOR—The New York City-based privately held company Atairos has made an investment of undisclosed extent in ProQuest, the Ann Arbor-based privately held information and content provider.
ProQuest officials said they will use proceeds from the transaction to repurchase most of the shares owned by entities affiliated with the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman Sachs, which will retain a minority interest in the company. Cambridge Information Group Inc., a New York City-based information services and education company, will maintain its majority ownership of ProQuest. CIG has been the majority owner of ProQuest since 2007.
“We’re delighted to welcome the partnership of this like-minded investor,” said Andy Snyder, CEO of CIG and chairman of ProQuest. “Like CIG, Atairos brings a long-term perspective and values relationships with the management teams of the companies it invests in. It’s committed to supporting sustainable growth for ProQuest. I’m equally happy that Goldman Sachs will remain an investor. They have been a value-added partner over the past six years and we’re grateful for their continuing support.”
Added Atairos managing director Jackson Phillips: “ProQuest is highly regarded by its customers for its array of content and technology solutions. The company’s global customer base and commitment to innovation provide a strong foundation for continued growth. We are excited to partner with the ProQuest and Ex Libris leadership teams and we look forward to supporting them to achieve our shared goals.”
ProQuest’s management team, led by CEO Matti Shem Tov, will all continue, and the company’s strategy of innovation on behalf of better research, better learning and better insights remains unchanged.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the coming months, following satisfaction of customary closing conditions and receipt of required regulatory approvals.
Founded in Ann Arbor in 1938 as University Microfilms, ProQuest curates six centuries of content—the world’s largest collection of journals, e-books, primary sources, dissertations, news, and video.. ProQuest products and services are used in academic, K-12, public, corporate and government libraries in 150 countries. More at www.proquest.com.
Atairos was launched in 2016 and has more than $5 billion in equity capital. More www.atairos.com