---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 1995 10:03:18 EDT
From: Leticia Alvarez <alvarez@READMORE.COM>
Subject: Knight-Ridder to acquire UnCove
KNIGHT-RIDDER INFORMATION TO ACQUIRE THE CARL CORPORATION
AND THE UNCOVER COMPANY
Unique strengths in markets, technologies and content will combine to
enhance the total solution to customers.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., August 9, 1995 -- Knight-Ridder Information, Inc.
announced today that it intends to acquire 100% interest in The CARL
Corporation, a leading provider of library automation services. In a
related announcement, the company announced that it also intends to
acquire
total interest in The UnCover Company, a joint partnership of The CARL
Corporation and Blackwell Limited.
The CARL Corporation was incorporated in 1988 as a for-profit spin-off of
the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries, and has grown to become one
of
the preeminent companies in the field of advanced automated library and
information services.
The UnCover Company, formed in 1993 to advance CARL's UnCover project,
has
rapidly grown to become one of the industry's premier online information
and document supply services. Management of both CARL and UnCover will
continue unchanged.
"Knight-Ridder brings significant resources, scope, and talent to this
acquisition," said Ward Shaw, chairman and CEO of CARL. "This will
profoundly enhance our ability to address new development and growth
opportunities in all our market areas. We at CARL and UnCover are
delighted to be joining the Knight-Ridder family."
"We believe The CARL Corporation and The UnCover Company will introduce a
new combination of content, talent, and technology into the Knight-Ridder
Information family that will augment our KR SourceOne(SM) document
business
unit and advance our strategic mission in the field of document supply,"
said Cathy Gordon, vice president of KR SourceOne.
Begun in 1994, KR SourceOne has become one of the world's largest
document
suppliers. From its beginning as an express document delivery supplier
specializing in patent images, KR SourceOne has grown into a
comprehensive
full-service document provider through its previous acquisitions of
Article
Express International and Information On Demand.
Asked how CARL and UnCover fit into the KR SourceOne service mix, Ms.
Gordon replied, "We have identified two categories of users in the
market:
those who require a full-service document brokerage, and those who prefer
to broker this function internally. UnCover's automated document
capability, combined with our other document services, will enable KR
SourceOne to provide viable offerings for both audiences."
Both Knight-Ridder Information and Blackwell Limited have indicated that
cooperative marketing agreements already in place between The UnCover
Company, BH Blackwell and Readmore will continue. "The Blackwell
companies
fully expect that this powerful new positioning of UnCover, built on
increased investment in technical and product support, will enhance
services and allow us to expand our existing market and penetrate new
ones," said Terry Collins, CEO of the Blackwell Group. Knight-Ridder
Information, CARL, and the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries have
also indicated their intent to continue to work together. "The Alliance
Board believes that everyone is a winner in this transaction. With the
sale proceeds, the public and private colleges, universities and
libraries
in Colorado and Wyoming who are members of the Alliance can now more
vigorously undertake the task of providing information services to their
students, faculty and library patrons," said Steven Hulbert, chairman of
the board of the Alliance.
This transaction is subject to final negotiation of the definitive
agreements, which are expected to be completed shortly.
Knight-Ridder Information, Inc. is the acknowledged world leader in
electronic information access and delivery, with 200,000 customers in
almost 150 countries. The company offers the DIALOG(R) and DataStar(SM)
services, which provide access to more than 600 online databases; KR
Information OnDisc(TM) collection of nearly 70 titles on CD-ROM; and KR
SourceOne, a comprehensive, worldwide document delivery service.
Easy-to-use Windows(TM)-based applications for information professionals,
scientists, and business professionals are under development.
Knight-Ridder Information is located at 2440 El Camino Real, Mountain
View,
California 94040; phone: (415) 254-8800 (Mountain View) or (215) 241-0131
(Philadelphia). In the U.S. and Canada, call (800) 334-2564. In the
U.K.,
phone +44 (0)171 930 7646. The company can also be reached by fax at
(415) 254-7070 or via the Internet World Wide Web at
http://www.dialog.com.
Knight-Ridder Information is a subsidiary of Knight-Ridder, Inc. (NYSE:
KRI).
The companies of the Blackwell Group pride themselves on their
preeminence
as the natural intermediaries in their chosen markets between publisher
and
library and end-user. Still privately owned, the group of Blackwell
companies now includes over 70 academic bookshops in the UK as well as
library supply companies in the UK, USA and Australia, providing global
acquisitions services to libraries world-wide. Blackwell Ltd, is located
at 50 Broad Street Oxford. For more information contact: Jane Beddall,
BH
Blackwell, phone +44 (0) 1865 261362; fax: +44 (0) 1865 261314; e-mail:
jane.beddall@blackwell.co.uk; or Letty Alvarez, Readmore Inc.,
phone (212) 349-5540; fax: (212) 385-2350; e-mail: alvarez@readmore.com.
For more information on CARL Corporation and its family of information
products and services, contact Dodie Ownes, Marketing Coordinator, CARL
Corporation, 3801 E. Florida, Suite 300, Denver, Colorado 80210; voice:
(303) 758-3030 x154; fax: (303) 758-0606; e-mail: downes@carl.org.
For information on UnCover, contact Brenda Bailey, Marketing and Client
Liaison, The UnCover Company, 3801 E. Florida, Suite 200, Denver,
Colorado
80210; voice: (303) 758-3030 x105; fax: (303) 758-5946; e-mail:
bbailey@carl.org.
Complete information on both CARL and UnCover is available via the
Internet
World Wide Web at http://www.carl.org. For UnCover information only,
connect to http://www.carl.org/uncover/unchome.html.
PRESS CONTACTS:
Sharyn Fitzpatrick
Knight-Ridder Information
(800) 334-2564
or (415) 254-8601
sharyn_fitzpatrick@corp.dialog.com
Rebecca T. Lenzini
The CARL Corporation/
The UnCover Company
(303) 758-3030 x102
rlenzini@carl.org
# # #
DIALOG is a service mark (registered U.S. Patent & Trademark Office),
DataStar and KR SourceOne are service marks, and KR Information OnDisc is
a
trademark of Knight-Ridder Information, Inc., a Knight-Ridder company.
All other marks are the property of their owners.
