Springer Nature and the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group have agreed that, effective immediately, the Stuttgart-based publishing house J.B. Metzler will become part of Springer Nature. The acquisition follows the recent combination of the majority of Macmillan Science and Education (owned by the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group) with Springer Science+Business Media, to form the new publishing group, Springer Nature. Holtzbrinck holds a 53 percent share in Springer Nature. J.B. Metzler, which was previously part of the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, will continue to be based in Stuttgart and will retain the J.B. Metzler brand.
J.B. Metzler, one of the oldest and most renowned publishing houses in the German-speaking region, was founded in 1682. It publishes classics such as Kindlers Literatur Lexikon and the encyclopedia of classical antiquity Der Neue Pauly as well as the works of authors like Friedrich Schiller and Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. Over the course of its 333-year history, it has established itself as one of the most important humanities publishers, producing respected and acclaimed reference works, handbooks and textbooks.
Beyond its focus on the natural sciences, engineering and medicine, Springer Nature also maintains an extensive international humanities portfolio, including imprints such as Palgrave Macmillan and Springer. The addition of the respected name J.B. Metzler represents a significant enhancement of this portfolio.
Commenting on the acquisition, Niels Peter Thomas, Executive Vice President German Language Science Publishing at Springer Nature, said: “The name J.B. Metzler stands for excellence and sustainability, qualities which lie at the heart of Springer Nature and our approach to publishing educational and professional literature. Furthermore, Metzler’s publications dovetail seamlessly with our humanities portfolio. Our own experience with the parallel publishing of print and electronic editions of the same book will open new avenues for Metzler, while preserving the identity and distinctive character of its books.”
The change of hands has also been welcomed at Holtzbrinck. Christian Döttinger, COO Deutsche Buchverlage, said: “J.B. Metzler is and will remain an essential part of the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. We are confident that this new constellation offers a solution that will allow the small but excellent publishing house to benefit from the experience of the market leader in Germany, while remaining part of our publishing group.”
