Koninklijke Brill NV

M&A Activity • Apr 19, 2022

PRESS RELEASE

Brill Strengthens Position in Biology and Open Access with Acquisition of Wageningen Academic Publishers

Brill, the leading international academic publisher in the Humanities, Social Sciences, International Law, and Biology announces today that it has reached agreement with the shareholders of Wageningen Academic Publishers B.V. (WAP) to acquire all shares in the business. WAP is a cutting-edge, international academic publisher in the fields of Animal Science, Food and Health Science, Agriculture, Environment and Agribusiness. It publishes scientific journals, books and conference proceedings, many of which in Open Access. The total revenue of WAP amounted to approx. EUR 1m in 2021.

The acquisition of WAP strengthens Brill's quality Biology program and creates a springboard to further develop in this fast growing and well-funded segment of the academic market. In addition, Brill's mission to be relevant in areas of scholarship vital for addressing today's global challenges is further reinforced with key publications in areas such as Agriculture and Environment.

"Wageningen Academic Publishers is an excellently led international Biology and Agricultural Sciences publisher with a strong program in highly attractive fields of research," says Brill's CEO Peter Coebergh. "For Brill, this acquisition provides a great opportunity to further extend its reach into the Sciences that connect well with typical Brill subjects such as International Climate Law and Environmental Law, and to develop its portfolio from there." CPO Jasmin Lange adds: "The strong uptake of Open Access in this area of research and the extensive experience with Open Access models that WAP has built up, provides Brill with additional tools to further develop its Open Access propositions."

Enrico Kunst and Mike Jacobs, former shareholders and managing directors of WAP, comment: "Being part of the Brill family will help to further develop the journal and book programs of the Wageningen Academic Publishers brand. It offers a great opportunity to current and future titles."

The acquisition of WAP is expected to positively contribute to Brill's underlying EBITDA and underlying Earnings Per Share (EPS) as of 2022. The transaction will be financed with cash and an acquisition facility provided by Rabobank NL. The acquisition will be effective as of April 15, 2022 and WAP's results will be included in the consolidated figures of the Brill Group as of that date.

Leiden, April 19, 2022

Peter Coebergh, Chief Executive Officer Peter.Coebergh@brill.com - +31 (0)6 53 57 83 25

Jasmin Lange, Chief Publishing Officer Jasmin.Lange@brill.com - +31 (0)6 21 28 21 45

PRESS RELEASE

About Brill

Founded in 1683 in Leiden, the Netherlands, Brill is a leading international academic publisher in the Humanities, Social Sciences, International Law, and Biology. With offices in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, the USA and Asia, Brill today publishes more than 360 journals and 2,000 new books and reference works each year as well as a large number of databases and primary source research collections. Commitment to Open Access and the latest publishing technologies are at the core of Brill's mission to make academic research available for the scholarly community worldwide. The company's key customers are academic and research institutions, libraries, and scholars. Brill is a publicly traded company and is listed on Euronext Amsterdam NV. For further information, please visit brill.com.

About Wageningen Academic Publishers

Wageningen Academic Publishers is an international STM publisher in the field of Life Sciences. Located at the heart of one of the world's most famous Food & Agriculture research centres, the company focuses on topics in Animal and Veterinary Studies, Food and Health, Agribusiness and Rural Studies, Agriculture, and Environmental Studies. Wageningen Academic Publishers currently publishes 7 journals and around 30 new books per year. For further information, please visit WageningenAcademic.com.