Date:         Thu, 21 Mar 2002 18:43:40 +0100
From:         Sarah Kellman <skellman@SWETS.NL>
Subject:      Swets Blackwell acquires John Smith subscriptions as Coutts takes
              over Martinus Nijhoff book division

PRESS RELEASE

Swets Blackwell acquires John Smith subscriptions as Coutts takes over
Martinus Nijhoff book division

Today Coutts Library Services Ltd and Swets Blackwell announced an
acquisition agreement between their respective books and journal
subscription divisions.  Coutts have acquired the books division of
Martinus Nijhoff International from Swets Blackwell and, as part of the
agreement, Swets Blackwell have taken over John Smith's journal
subscription business from the Coutts Group.

In the short term, the priority for both Coutts and Swets Blackwell is to
ensure that customers are informed of developments and that there be no
interruptions to services. Ultimately, the agreement enables both
companies to focus on providing their customers with even better services
in their respective areas of expertise.

James Gray, CEO of Coutts, said: "We are delighted to include Martinus
Nijhoff books business as part of the Coutts Group.  Both Coutts and
Martinus Nijhoff customers will benefit from an even greater range of
integrated services and more focused investment as a result of the two
companies joining forces. This acquisition is a positive step into gaining
a larger share of the European market and we are looking forward to
developing this sector of our business".

Geert Visscher, CEO of Swets Blackwell, added: "We are very pleased to
have acquired the John Smith journal subscriptions business from Coutts.
The addition of their prestigious clients will complement and solidify our
existing customer base in the UK and the rest of the world. As Swets
Blackwell's core services involve access, management and distribution of
journals rather than books, this practical, logical arrangement will
benefit all parties involved."

Coutts Information Services Ltd was established in 1969, with a view to
providing book supply services and innovative value-added services to aid
collection development, such as approvals and new title profiling. During
the 1990's Coutts developed full shelf-ready services together with
on-line selection and acquisition facilities. The company evolved from the
merger of BMBC Ltd (UK), Coutts Library Services Inc (USA) and John Coutts
Library Services Ltd (Canada). The group formally came together in August
2000 to create a global library supply company.

Martinus Nijhoff was founded in the Hague in 1853. From its beginnings as
a small shop, Nijhoff's activities were broadened in the ensuing years to
include the serving of library markets around the world. John Smith & Son,
founded in 1751, is the oldest independent bookseller in Scotland. It
supplies books to libraries worldwide and runs a chain of award winning
academic bookshops. Both companies carry with them expertise and knowledge
of their markets along with a tradition of excellent customer service.

Swets Blackwell is one of the world's largest providers of subscription
and information management solutions. They offer a wide range of services
to their 60,000 corporate, academic, R&D, medical, and government library
and information center clients worldwide, whose ranks include 30% of
Fortune 500 companies. Swets Blackwell works in partnership with 65,000
major publishers and suppliers of professional information. They have
annual revenue in excess of US$1 billion and a staff of nearly 1,000
employees worldwide. Their head office is located in Lisse, the
Netherlands, and they maintain offices in 21 countries across six
continents.

# # #
Press Contacts:
Swets Blackwell
Sarah Kellman, Communications Executive
Tel: +31 (0)252 435 584
press@nl.swetsblackwell.com <mailto:press@nl.swetsblackwell.com>

Coutts
Michelle Barker, Marketing Manager
Tel: + 44 (0)1425 471160
mbarker@couttsinfo.com <mailto:mbarker@couttsinfo.com>