Deal Is Set for Encyclopaedia Britannica (original) (raw)
Business|Deal Is Set for Encyclopaedia Britannica
https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/19/business/deal-is-set-for-encyclopaedia-britannica.html
Advertisement
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
- Dec. 19, 1995
Credit...The New York Times Archives
See the article in its original context from
December 19, 1995
,
Section D, Page
TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers.
About the Archive
This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them.
Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions.
Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., the troubled publisher of the venerable encyclopedia, said today that the company would be sold for an undisclosed amount to an investment group led by Jacob E. Safra, a Switzerland-based financier.
Company officials said the selling price was affected by the company's debt level, which stemmed from its practice of selling encyclopedias on installment.
The secretive Mr. Safra, whose latest known investments have been in California wineries, was not available for interviews today, but in a statement he called the Britannica the "crown jewel of accumulated knowledge" and said his goal was to distribute it globally to "all people, all income and all ages."
The money from the sale will go to the University of Chicago, which is sole beneficiary of the company's owner, the not-for-profit William Benton Foundation. In recent months, the university has been providing financial backing to stem losses rather than drawing royalties.
The sale was contingent on Mr. Safra's further investigation of the company's operations but the sellers were talking as if the deal was done. "We are pleased to have a purchaser with the commitment to build on Britannica's proud heritage," said Howard G. Krane, chairman of the foundation's board.
There was no indication whether Mr. Safra intended to make any management changes. Joseph J. Esposito, the chairman and chief executive of Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., was promoted to the job earlier this year with a mandate to speed the company's belated efforts to join the electronic world.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Advertisement