Wolters Kluwer Acquires Charles D. Spencer & Associates

Posted on May 24, 2002

Wolters Kluwer North America has acquired Charles D. Spencer & Associates, a provider of print and online pension, benefits and compensation information. The Spencer assets will become part of Aspen Publishers, New York, NY, a provider of legal and business information, and a Wolters Kluwer North America company.

The acquisition includes Spencernet.com, a subscription online service that provides pension, compensation and benefits information, updated daily. The Spencer titles that have been acquired target pension and employee benefits professionals and include loose-leaf subscription titles such as the Compliance Guide for Health and Benefit Plans, IBIS Briefing Service, and Research Reports on Employee Benefits.

The acquisition will strengthen Aspen Publishers pension and benefit product line. Aspen offers a series of single-volume books on pension and benefit topics, including The Pension Answer Book. This line will be augmented by Spencer's in-house authored, loose-leaf subscription products. The extensive online offerings of Spencernet.com will be merged into Aspen's LoisLaw.com, a provider of online legal source material. Loislaw offers more than 2,400 databases containing more than 11 million documents, including federal and state cases, statutes, administrative regulations, court rules and other legal information.

Spencer had 2001 fiscal year revenues of more than $3 million. Charles D. Spencer & Associates has been a publisher and provider of employee benefits information services for over 50 years. The company was founded in 1946 in Chicago, and remained an independent, privately-held publishing firm for more than a half century.

Founded over 40 years ago, Aspen Publishers, Inc., New York, NY, serves the information needs of professionals in the areas of law, business, and education. Aspen provides analysis and information in the form of manuals, texts, journals, newsletters, electronic products and online services.