August 5, 2008
The largest private equity fund focused exclusively on the knowledge industry identifies Ex Libris as an excellent investment
Jerusalem, Israel and New York, USA—August 5, 2008. Ex Libris™ Group, a leading provider of library automation solutions and developer of the only comprehensive product suite for the discovery, management, and delivery of all material types, announced today that Leeds Equity Partners, the largest fund focused exclusively on investing in knowledge industry companies, has completed the acquisition of the Ex Libris Group.
”We have been following with great interest the evolution of Ex Libris and its continued success in performance and have identified it as a leader in the library industry and an excellent investment,” explains Robert Bernstein, co-founder of Leeds Equity Partners. ”Ex Libris is headed by a strong executive management team guided by a solid short- and long-term product strategy. We have full confidence that, led by this team, Ex Libris will maintain its position as the leading provider of automation solutions to academic, research, and national libraries around the world. Leeds Equity Partners looks forward to accompanying Ex Libris Group in the continued development of the Company and its exceptional suite of solutions.”
”Ex Libris is pleased to become a Leeds Equity portfolio company,” comments Matti Shem Tov, Ex Libris Group president and CEO. ”The financial and industry strength that Leeds brings to the company will be invaluable in our continued growth—technological and global. Whereas the Ex Libris corporate structure will remain unaltered, this change in ownership will provide Ex Libris with additional resources for accelerating our current and future product strategies and our plans for international expansion.”
About Leeds Equity Partners:
Leeds Equity Partners, LLC, the New York-based private equity firm, manages the largest private equity fund in the United States focused on investments in the education, training and related business services and information industries (”Knowledge Industries”).
The Firm was founded in 1993 by Jeffrey T. Leeds and Robert A. Bernstein. The Board of Advisors of Leeds Equity Partners includes, among others, Dr. Rod Paige, former Secretary of Education under President George W. Bush; Richard Riley, former Secretary of Education under President Clinton and two-term Governor of South Carolina; Tim Fitzpatrick, the former CEO of Sallie Mae Corporation; and Timothy Shriver, Chairman of the Board of Special Olympics.
For additional information on Leeds Equity Partners, see http://www.leedsequity.com/.
About Ex Libris:
Ex Libris is a leading provider of automation solutions for academic libraries. Offering the only comprehensive product suite for electronic, digital, and print materials, Ex Libris provides efficient, user-friendly products that serve the needs of libraries today and will enable them to transition into the future. Ex Libris maintains an impressive customer base consisting of thousands of sites in more than 70 countries on six continents.
Dedicated to developing creative solutions in close collaboration with its customers, Ex Libris enables academic, national, and research libraries to maximize productivity and efficiency and, at the same time, greatly enhance the user experience. By empowering users to discover and obtain the information they need, libraries ensure their position as the bridge to knowledge.
For additional information on Ex Libris Group, see http://www.exlibrisgroup.com/
