LexisNexis buys out Universal Law Publishing

Part of Anglo-Dutch multinational Reed Elsevier, LexisNexis Legal & Professional serves customers in more than 100 countries with 10,000 employees worldwide

After a recent churn in the corporate law firm space, action has now shifted to the $70-million Indian legal publication sector.

LexisNexis India, a publisher and online solutions provider, has bought out 50-year publishing house Universal Law Publishing for an undisclosed amount.

Part of Anglo-Dutch multinational Reed Elsevier, LexisNexis Legal & Professional serves customers in more than 100 countries with 10,000 employees worldwide.

Both companies refused to confirm the deal size, citing confidentiality clauses. "With this acquisition, our portfolio of legal titles will double to 2,000-plus," Mohan Ramaswamy, managing director India, LexisNexis Legal & Professional, told the Business Standard. Some authors in Universal's portfolio include V R Krishna Iyer, P N Bhagwati, Michael Kirby, Soli J Sorabjee, and Arun Jaitley.

This acquisition will allow LexisNexis to reach a larger set of legal practitioners in the country, said Ramaswamy. Plans are afoot to make Universal's content available online through LexisNexis' India-customised legal research solutions. The acquisition will ramp up LexisNexis's India headcount from 200 to 250.

To speed its organic growth plans in India, Ramaswamy said the firm plans to step up investment in human resources, spruce its technology platform, bring more global products and solutions to the country, and partner publications. Currently, 60 per cent of its business comes from the print business, and the rest from the online route. The hugely fragmented legal publication market in India is divided equally between organised and unorganised players, and it is estimated to be growing at 10 per cent annually.