From: Anthony Watkinson <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sat, 31 May 2014 18:38:55 +0100
I have a question for Bonnie who may not have been in the business in
1995. My memory of the founding of HighWire is that it was
specifically intended for learned society publishers. The idea of
partnering with "independent publishers" was much later.
Back in 1995 Michael Keller talked about saving learned society
publishing from being "taken over" by Elsevier. In fact Elsevier have
never shown a great deal of interest in partnering with learned
societies though in fact they do. The main rival was Blackwell. In
those days Blackwell could have been described as an "independent
publisher" but they were also a competitor.
Is there anything to stop the new HighWire being bought eventually by
a large commercial publisher? I say this as an admirer of HighWire
and as one appreciating what Michael and his colleagues have done. In
1995 I did not believe they could build the organisation which has
been in many ways so successful. I qualify this by suggesting that
they could have done even better if they had been a publisher rather
than just another though impressive supplier. The lack of a full
range of publisher offerings such as the ability to offer consortial
deals may have limited the extent of their support.
Anthony
-----Original Message-----
From: Bonnie Zavon <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Fri, 30 May 2014 13:37:34 -0400
PRESS RELEASE
May 30, 2014
For Immediate Release
Stanford University's HighWire Press receives Growth Equity Investment
from Accel-KKR
(PDF: http://highwire.org/PR/HighWire-Growth-Investment.pdf)
Stanford, CA - 30 May 2014 - - HighWire Press, a technology service
provider to influential scholarly publishers and an auxiliary unit of
Stanford University Libraries, announced today it has received a
significant equity investment to support its strategic growth from
Accel-KKR, a leading technology-focused private equity firm. The new
partnership enables HighWire to further its strategic initiatives and
digital innovations in Internet-based publishing.
The investment from Accel-KKR will enable the business, HighWire
Press, Incorporated, to operate as a stand-alone enterprise. Accel-KKR
will own a majority interest of the company and Stanford University
will maintain a significant minority stake. Michael A. Keller,
University Librarian at Stanford, will serve as the Stanford
representative on the HighWire Press, Inc. board of directors.
HighWire was founded in 1995 under Keller's leadership, to ensure its
partners - academic societies and independent publishers - would
remain strong and able to lead the transition towards the use of new
technologies for scholarly communication.
Known for combining cutting-edge technology with long-term
organizational stability in support of its community-oriented mission
and model, HighWire facilitates the development, dissemination and
discovery of nearly four thousand prominent journals, books, and other
scholarly works online, as well as a highly customized manuscript
submission, tracking, and peer review system for journal editors.
Keller explained how the tradition of customer service, constant
innovation, and careful fostering of a dynamic scholarly community
will remain the charge of HighWire Press, Inc. Accel-KKR and Stanford
Libraries have been working closely to ensure a smooth transition and
a commitment to HighWire's core mission.
Current Managing Director Tom Rump will continue to lead the
organization as CEO of HighWire Press, Inc.
"By partnering with Accel-KKR, HighWire will have the opportunity to
leverage new resources to achieve an even greater impact on the
delivery of scholarly information and thus on the rate of discovery of
knowledge," said Keller. "In order to continue to expand our rapid
response to new technologies, innovative developments and the growing
needs of our customers, an influx of new capital was necessary."
"The HighWire team has built an outstanding business," said Ben
Bisconti, Managing Director at Accel-KKR. "The team, their customers
and the technology platform are world class. We are excited about
partnering with Stanford to continue supporting the HighWire team as
they focus on delivering market leading solutions to the scholarly
community."
"This is an exciting development in HighWire's evolution, enabling our
further investment in technology and publisher solutions," said Rump.
"Our entire staff are looking forward to the future possibilities that
will open to us with this capital infusion."
HighWire Press, Inc. will continue to operate out of its headquarters
office in Redwood City, California, as well as its satellite offices
on the East Coast and in the United Kingdom.
About Accel-KKR
Accel-KKR is a technology-focused private equity firm with $2.3
billion in assets under management. The firm invests primarily in
software and technology-enabled businesses well positioned for topline
and bottom-line growth. At the core of Accel-KKR's investment strategy
is a commitment to developing strong partnerships with the management
teams of its portfolio companies and a focus on building value through
the significant resources available through the Accel-KKR network.
Accel-KKR has a particular focus on buyouts and recapitalizations of
family-owned or closely-held private companies, going-private
transactions and divisional buyouts of larger companies. It invests
across a range of structures, functions as minority or majority
investors and commits a wide range of capital - from less than $10
million to over $100 million. The firm has offices in Menlo Park,
Atlanta, and London. For more information, please visit:
www.accel-kkr.com
About HighWire
HighWire Press provides innovative technology solutions to influential
societies, university presses, and independent publishers through its
ground-breaking HighWire Open Platform. Long affiliated with Stanford
University, HighWire offers digital content development and hosting
services, a customizable peer-review manuscript submission system,
cross-publisher librarian tools, strategic consultation, and unique
networking opportunities for organizations which produce high-impact
journals, books, and other scholarly publications.
www.highwire.org | Twitter: @highwirepress
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