Haights Cross Communications has acquired the Coriolis Group from International Thomson Publishing for an undisclosed price. Coriolis is a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based publisher of computer-related books, CD-ROMs and magazines.
Under the agreement, the current management of Coriolis, led by co-founders Keith Weiskamp and Jeff Duntemann, will continue to oversee the publisher's operations. Weiskamp said, "We believe this acquisition will help us to realize our vision of expanding Coriolis to lead the market in IT training services, materials and courses, and publishing quality technical books."
Just a year ago, Coriolis was acquired by International Thomson Publishing, and then consolidated its publishing lists with other Thomson properties Ventana Publishing and In- ternational Thomson Computer Publishing. "We started with a combined list of about 220 titles, and have pared that down to about 180, including a few that were originally at Ventana or ITCP.
"Over the course of the year, ITP realized that our strategic goals and theirs were different," Weiskamp told PW. "I looked for another partner, and Haights Cross's strategy of investing in rapidly growing specialty publishing and training businesses was an ideal fit."
With the addition of Coriolis, which had estimated revenues in 1998 of about $15 million, Haights Cross's total sales will top $100 million.
