Elsevier Science Inc. and Engineering Information Inc. ("Ei") today announced the acquisition of the publishing and information service assets of Ei by Elsevier Science. These assets include the Engineering Index publication, the Compendex database with related products, and the Engineering Information Village Service. Financial terms were not disclosed.According to Global Strategy Director of Elsevier Science, Peter Nientker, "The combination of Ei's products and services with our journals and electronic products, like ScienceDirect and Elsevier Electronics Subscriptions, will create a unique integrated service to the engineering community."
"The integration of Elsevier's technical and engineering publications with Ei's databases and access programs will provide a strong basis for developing high-performance, high- value information services for professional engineers and engineering students," said John Regazzi, president of Ei. Regazzi has agreed to head up the new business for Elsevier Science, which will operate under the corporate name "Elsevier Engineering Information Inc."
Ei and its predecessors have been famous for over 100 years in identifying and organizing information about the published engineering literature, and its Compendex products are the most comprehensive interdisciplinary engineering databases in the world. The Engineering Information Village was one of the first full-service sites on the World Wide Web to offer a variety of services and information products to the engineering community. Ei's sales in 1997 amounted to US$10 million.
Elsevier Science, with its headquarters in the Netherlands, is a member of the Reed Elsevier plc group, with offices in Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific. It publishes approximately 1,200 scientific journals in all major scientific, technical and medical disciplines. It also offers a substantial range of database and electronic library products, including Elsevier Electronic Subscriptions which provides access to locally held Elsevier ScienceDirect, an on-line host database, which will include all of Elsevier Science's academic journals and those of other participating publishers.