The original message, immediately below my comments, was submitted to
PACS-L.

   By the way, the _Wall Street Journal_ article is most interesting, for
example:

     "The immediate investor reaction was mixed...The market judged that the
merger is a good thing for Reed and not such a good thing for Elsevier...
Analysts said Elsevier, which derives 60% of its profit from its
1,000 scientific titles, risks losing its attraction as a predictable,
steadily profitable investment...Reed's publications are somewhat more
dependent on advertiser revenue and thus the company's profit is more cyclical.
'Elsevier is merging with a company with much less good earnings quality,' said
Tom Gietman (an analyst with the Amsterdam brokerage firm Van Meer James
Capel N.V.)..." (9/18/92 _Wall Street Journal_ article by Martin De Bois and
Janet Guyon)

E. Gaele Gillespie / Asst. Head, Serials     University of Kansas Libraries

----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Wall Street Journal reports (9/18) that Reed PLC will merge with Elsevier.
Reed PLC owns Cahners/RR Bowker, publisher of Library Journal.  WSJ reports
that profit margins on some Elsevier publications are 40% and that Elsevier's
profits ($217m) are lmost as high as Reed's ($243m) on half the revenue.
Will John Barry remain free to criticize?  The consolidation continues . . .

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