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Shareholder Group Sues Over Accounting at Reed Elsevier July 5, 2002 By BLOOMBERG NEWS AMSTERDAM, July 4 (Bloomberg News) - Reed Elsevier, the Dutch half of the largest publisher of scientific journals, is being taken to court by a shareholder interest group contesting how the company accounted for takeover costs last year. The interest group, the Foundation for Corporate Information Research, known by its Dutch initials SOBI, said today that it wanted an Amsterdam court to review the way Reed Elsevier accounted for good will related to the $5.7 billion purchase of Harcourt General in July 2001. A Reed Elsevier spokeswoman, Susanna Smart, did not return several calls seeking comment. "I'm not worried about this - with good will it's very arbitrary when to take the costs," said Engbert Ebeling, an analyst at Amsterdam's Effectenkantoor, an investment firm. "With Elsevier, I'm looking at earnings before good will anyway." Shares of Reed Elsevier N.V. ended the trading day in Amsterdam at 12.48 euros, up 1 cent. The shares of Reed Elsevier P.L.C., the British part of the Reed Elsevier Group, rose 1 percent to £5.615. SOBI's founder, Pieter Lakeman, said he thought Reed Elsevier N.V. should have had higher good-will costs under Dutch accounting rules. The company's 2001 good-will costs were 806 million euros (about $790 million), an increase of 38 million euros, it said in February, adding that the costs mainly reflected "the midyear acquisition of the Harcourt businesses." Earlier today, the publisher reiterated its forecast that 2002 earnings per share - excluding currency changes and some other costs like good-will expenses - would rise at least 10 percent. On April 9, the company said it could maintain at least 10 percent profit growth this year. But in a note to investors, analysts at Dexis Securities said, "If advertising difficulties in the U.S. and Europe remain difficult for the rest of 2002, we believe that this target may become challenging." Reed Elsevier's acquisition of Harcourt General a year ago made it one of the four biggest textbook sellers in the United States and reduced its dependence on ad revenue. Reed Elsevier has said it expected about 15 percent of 2002 revenue to come from ads, down from 22 percent in 2000. Mr. Lakeman said in an interview that his group's calculations showed that good-will costs from the Harcourt acquisition should have been 118.2 million euros higher. He said he disagreed with the company's decision to stretch the good will over 40 years and extend the good-will period on some previous purchases to 40 years from 20 years to match the treatment given to Harcourt. Mr. Lakeman, who has been suing companies that include Royal KPN since 1976 over accounting issues, owns five Reed Elsevier shares. His foundation wants the court procedure to start on July 25, he said. The Amsterdam court has not yet received the complaint, said Linda van der Horst, a court employee. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/05/business/05REED.html?ex=1026926032&ei=1&en=1ad5272b5ae1cc4a HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
