Laurie Katz, Director of Publicity
Email: [email protected]





Facts On File, Inc. Acquires Assets of Facts On File News Services



NEW YORK, N.Y., August 7, 2007 – Facts On File, Inc., a leading provider of print and electronic reference products for the school and library markets, has reached agreement with The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. to acquire the assets of the Facts On File News Services. The agreement was announced today by Mark McDonnell, President of Infobase Publishing, Inc., operator of Facts On File, and Michael Geltzeiler, President of the Reader’s Digest School & Educational Services Division. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The agreement reunites the two "Facts On File" businesses. Facts On File sold its News Services division in 1996 to WRC Media Inc., which merged with Reader's Digest Association in March 2007.

"We are delighted that Facts On File News Services will be with us again, and it gives me great pleasure to welcome it back into the fold," McDonnell said. "Bringing the two Facts On File organizations together again will eliminate confusion in the industry and create a larger, more focused company."


RDA will retain one of the FOFNS products, Facts for Learning, a curriculum-based reference database built on digital content from the Weekly Reader magazines, Gareth Stevens books, and other reference sources. Facts for Learning will remain as part of the Weekly Reader Publishing Group, a unit of RDA’s School & Educational Services division.


"This is a 'win-win'; for both organizations," Geltzeiler said. "In returning to its roots, the Facts On File News Services will be reunited with its former organization, one that is dedicated exclusively to its sector of the education services industry. We look forward to a smooth transition and a positive outcome for all concerned. For RDA, this
move is consistent with our strategy for Weekly Reader Publishing Group to focus its resources on our core classroom curriculum products and constituencies.”

Infobase Publishing is one of America’s leading providers of supplemental educational materials to the school and library markets. The company publishes books, online databases, videos, and digital products under such well-known names as Facts On File, Films for the Humanities & Sciences, Cambridge Educational, Chelsea House, Bloom’s Literary Criticism, and Ferguson Publishing. Infobase Publishing’s headquarters are in New York City.

The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc. is a global publisher and direct marketer of books, magazines, music collections, and video with customers in more than 70 countries. The company publishes 77 magazines, including 50 local-country editions of its flagship, Reader’s Digest, the world’s most widely read magazine. RDA’s headquarters are located near Pleasantville, New York. The corporate website is www.rda.com.