ProQuest affiliate R.R. Bowker, a bibliographic information provider, today signed a definitive agreement to sell its Bowker Business Intelligence and Commerce Solutions products to global information company Nielsen. Once the acquisition is final, ProQuest said in an announcement, the products will be integrated into Nielsen’s existing book portfolio. Bowker and Nielsen expect the sale to be finalized within a month.
Bowker products that will be available as part of the Nielsen Book portfolio will include business intelligence products PubTrack Digital, PubTrack Christian, PubTrack Higher-Ed, Bowker Market Research Books & Consumers, Global Ebook Monitor, and custom research. Commerce solutions products will include PubEasy, Pubnet, and PacStream. The Nielsen Book portfolio currently includes BookData, BookNet, Registration Agencies, and BookScan.
The announcement notes the acquisition will enable Nielsen “to measure the impact of eBook sales in the U.S. and UK and provide insights and trends around the volume and value of books sales by various demographic criteria.” In addition, it says, “Nielsen will also be able to offer for the first time a B2B service that enables retailers to source and order books throughout the English-language book market.”
With its affiliate ProQuest, Bowker will focus on its book discovery solutions, including Summon and Syndetic Solutions.
“Our commitment at Bowker and ProQuest is to develop solutions that streamline the workflow of our customers,” ProQuest CEO Kurt Sanford said in the announcement. “By bringing together Nielsen and Bowker analytic services, book publishers will receive the critical data they require to navigate the transition to digital-first publishing, through one tool set from one source.”
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