MATHEW BENDER & CO ACQUIRED BY LEXIS-NEXIS

The announcement by Reed Elsevier plc, the parent company of LEXIS-NEXIS, of its acquisition of legal publisher Matthew Bender & Co. and the remaining 50 percent interest in the SHEPARD'S Company will result in expanded information products that offer attorneys and legal professionals new and broader choices, according to Hans Gieskes, president and chief executive officer of LEXIS-NEXIS.

Matthew Bender is widely recognized as the publisher of authoritative analytical legal publications and practice aids covering all areas of law, while SHEPARD'S is the leading citation service used to check the latest authority or validity of a case or statutory reference.

"We're confident that bringing together the strong editorial capabilities of Matthew Bender and SHEPARD'S with the technology leadership of LEXIS-NEXIS will result in integrated products and services in print, online and CD-ROM formats that will enhance legal publishing offerings and lead to greater productivity among our customers," said Gieskes.

With the transaction, LEXIS-NEXIS also benefits from a sizable expansion of its author base, to more than 1,000 authors who are the leading legal authorities in their fields.

Gieskes said the transaction will be implemented in a phased manner over the next several months, leveraging the content, technology and publishing skills resulting from the new combination.

To oversee the newly acquired companies' products and services, Paul Brown, chief operating officer of Legal Publishing for LEXIS-NEXIS, has been named president and CEO of Matthew Bender and will also be responsible for SHEPARD'S and LEXIS Law Publishing.

"The combined operations will provide LEXIS-NEXIS with a significantly strengthened platform from which to take advantage of the potential available in the growing U.S. legal markets," said Gieskes. "We're confident that this important expansion of our coverage of the U.S. legal information markets will deliver considerable value for our customers."

LEXIS-NEXIS, headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, is celebrating 25 years as the world's leading provider of enhanced information services and management tools. The company's mission is to help legal, business and government professionals collect, manage and use information more productively.

LEXIS-NEXIS is a division of Reed Elsevier Inc., and a member of the Reed Elsevier plc group (www.reed-elsevier.com), one of the world's leading publishing and information businesses. Reed Elsevier has annual sales in excess of $5 billion and 27,000 employees. It is owned equally by Reed International P.L.C. (NYSE:RUK) and Elsevier NV (NYSE:ENL).

Information about LEXIS-NEXIS may be found at the LEXIS-NEXIS Communication Center on the World Wide Web at www.lexis-nexis.com.

For more information, call 937/865-1057.