Wolters Kluwer

Wolters Kluwer N.V.

Type| Public

Traded as

| Template:EuronextAmsterdam
AEX component
Industry| Software, information services
Founded| 1968; 58 years ago (1968)
Headquarters| Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands (global)

Key people

| Stacey Caywood (CEO)[1]
Products| Health, corporate services, finance, tax, accounting, law and regulatory software, services, workflow tools, and publications
Revenue| €6.1 billion (2025)[2]

Number of employees

| 21,600 (2024)[3]
Website| wolterskluwer.com

Wolters Kluwer N.V. is a Dutch multinational company that provides information, software, and services for accountants, doctors, lawyers, and other professionals. The company serves legal, business, tax, accounting, finance, audit, risk, compliance, and healthcare markets.[4]

Wolters Kluwer's product portfolio includes: UpToDate, CCH, Enablon, CT Corporation, Lippincott, CCH Tagetik, Inview, Brightflag, Ovid, TeamMate.[5]

The company's global headquarters are in Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands.[6][7]

## Contents

* 1 History
* 1.1 Early history
* 1.2 1990s
* 1.3 2000s
* 1.4 2010s–2020s
* 2 Operations
* 3 Sustainability
* 4 Lawsuits
* 5 See also
* 6 References
* 7 External links

## History

### Early history

Jan-Berend Wolters founded the Schoolbook publishing house in Groningen, Netherlands, in 1836.[8] In 1858, the Noordhoff publishing house was founded alongside the Schoolbook publishing house.[8] The two publishing houses merged in 1968. Wolters-Noordhoff merged with Information and Communications Union (ICU) in 1972 and took the name ICU. ICU acquired Croner in 1977, ICU changed its name to Wolters-Samsom in 1983. The company began serving foreign law firms and multinational companies in China in 1985.[9] In 1987, Elsevier, the largest publishing house in the Netherlands, announced its intentions to buy up Kluwer's stock.[8] Kluwer merged with Wolters-Samsom to fend off Elsevier's takeover bid and formed Wolters Kluwer.[10] The merger made Wolters Kluwer the second-largest publishing house in the Netherlands.[8][10]

After the merger, Wolters Kluwer began expanding internationally with the purchase of IPSOA Editore, Kieser Verlag, Technipublicaciones, and Tele Consulte in 1989.[11] By the end of the year, Wolters Kluwer expanded its presence to Spain, West Germany and France.[8] The company also launched LEX, its legal information system, in Poland.[12] In 1989, 44% of the company's revenue was earned in foreign markets.[8]

### 1990s

The following year, Wolters Kluwer purchased J. B. Lippincott & Co. from HarperCollins.[11] The company acquired Liber, a Swedish educational publishing company, in 1993.[13] The following year, it established its first Eastern European subsidiary, IURA Edition, in Bratislava, Slovakia. The company acquired Jugend & Volk, Dalian, Fateco Fîrlag and Juristfîrlaget, Deutscher Kommunal-Verlag Dr. Naujoks & Behrendt, and Colex Data in 1995. Wolters Kluwer was operating in 16 countries and had approximately 8000 employees by the end of that year.[8]

In 1994, Wolters Kluwer expanded its US legal business by acquiring Prentice Hall Law & Business from Simon & Schuster.[14][15] In 1995, Wolters Kluwer acquired CT Corporation. The following year, it purchased CCH Inc., a tax and business materials publisher, for $1.9 billion. The purchase assisted in expanding the company's business in Asia because of CCH Inc.'s involvement in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong.[8] It also purchased Little, Brown and Company's medical and legal division that year.[11] John Wiley & Son's legal division was purchased in 1997.[16] Waverly, Inc., Ovid Technologies, Inc. and Plenum Publishing Corporation were acquired in 1998 to develop Wolters Kluwer's medical and scientific publishing industry.[8]

### 2000s

In 2002, Wolters Kluwer sold Kluwer Academic Publishers to the private equity firms Cinven and Candover Investments.[17] (It is now part of Springer).[18] The company established its first three-year strategy to deliver sustained value to customers and shareholders in 2003.[12] The New Delhi Wolters Kluwer Health office opened in 2006. In 2007, Wolters Kluwer Education was sold to Bridgepoint Capital.[19] In September 2008, Wolters Kluwer acquired UpToDate, an evidence-based electronic clinical information resource.[20] The following month, the company received a multi-year contract to provide prescription and patient-level data to the United States Food and Drug Administration.[21] In 2009, Wolters Kluwer was named the "Best Place to Work" in Spain by the Great Place to Work Institute.[22]

### 2010s–2020s

Wolters Kluwer Deutschland, the German subsidiary of the company, launched Legal Tribune Online in April 2010.[23] The online magazine, which provides German-language news and analysis about current developments in law and related subjects, ranked among the top 20 most visited online professional journals.[24][25][26] In September of that year, Wolters Kluwer acquired FRSGlobal, a financial regulatory reporting and risk management firm.[27]

The company acquired SASGAS, a provider of financial reporting software to banks in China, in October 2011.[28] That December, Wolters Kluwer acquired Medknow, an open access publisher.[29] Also in 2011, Wolters Kluwer sold its pharmaceutical industry-related Marketing and Publishing Service division to Springer Science+Business Media, which led to a workforce reduction at its facility in Ambler, Pennsylvania, eventually leading to the site's closure in 2013.[30]

In 2012, Wolters Kluwer acquired Acclipse, an accounting software provider, and Finarch, makers of a platform for financial institutions to manage data, compliance, and risk.[31][32] The company's health division tested technology to identify and treat sepsis in December.[33] Wolters Kluwer acquired Health Language, a medical terminology management provider, in January 2013.[31] In May 2013, it acquired Prosoft Tecnologia, a Brazilian provider of tax and accounting software.[34] The company acquired CitizenHawk, an American online brand protection and global domain recovery specialist, in September 2013.[35] That month, Wolters Kluwer acquired Svenson, an Austrian regulatory reporting solutions provider.[36] The acquisition enabled both companies to assist Austrian banks and insurance companies in meeting national and international regulatory requirements.[36]

The company became the fifth participant in the AAISalliance, an arrangement of information providers that make their services available for member insurance companies of the American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS) in April 2014.[37] In May 2014, Wolters Kluwer launched UpToDate, a clinical decision support resource, in the United Kingdom.[38] UpToDate was launched throughout Western Europe a month later.[39] Wolters Kluwer acquired Datacert, a Houston, Texas-based enterprise legal management software and services provider in April 2014.[40][41]

The company partnered with Anhembi Morumbi University, a private university in São Paulo, Brazil, to provide information and resources to healthcare students and professionals in June 2014.[42] That same year, the company's CCH eSign software won the CPA Practice Advisor Magazine's Tax & Accounting Technology Innovation Award,[43][44] as well as the Software and Information Industry Association's Best Enterprise Mobile Application Award.[45] The company partnered with Broadridge Tax Services in August 2014 to facilitate tax reporting and reconciliation.[46] In September, the company's UpToDate resource was released in Latin America.[47] That month the company extended its partnership with the American Internal Revenue Service.[48] 2014 marked the 15th year of their collaboration.[48] In May 2016, the company acquired Enablon, a global provider of Environmental, Health, Safety & Sustainability and Operational Risk Management software and SaaS solutions .[49] Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory sold Croner Group to Peninsula Business Services in 2016 and sold Croner-i to Peninsula in 2017[50][51]

In the United States, Wolters Kluwer's Legal & Regulatory Education (the education division of Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S.) published casebooks and legal textbooks through its Aspen Publisher's, Inc. marquee.[52][53] In 2021, Transom Capital Group purchased the Education division for US$88 million,[52] renaming the entire operation as the standalone Aspen Publishing.[54]

In June 2022, Wolters Kluwer signed and completed an agreement to acquire Level Programs S.L., a provider of legal practice management software in Spain.[55]

Wolters Kluwer launched new TeamMate+ for internal controls and assurance professionals on 17 July 2025.[55]

## Operations

Wolters Kluwer operates under five divisions as of 2023:[56]

* Legal & Regulatory
* Tax & Accounting
* Health
* Financial & Corporate Compliance
* Corporate Performance & ESG

The company is active in over 180 countries. 59% of the company's total revenues came from Expert Solutions in 2024.[57]

## Sustainability

Wolters Kluwer is listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.[58] The company received the Bronze Class Sustainability Award 2014 from RobecoSAM.[59] Wolters Kluwer is recognized as one of the "Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World" by Corporate Knights.[60]

## Lawsuits

In September 2024, Lucina Uddin, a neuroscience professor at UCLA, sued Wolters Kluwer along with five other academic journal publishers in a proposed class-action lawsuit, alleging that the publishers violated antitrust law by agreeing not to compete against each other for manuscripts and by denying scholars payment for peer review services.[61][62]

## See also

* Books in the Netherlands
* Croner Group (a subsidiary from 1977 to 2015)
* European Business Law Review

## References

1. ↑ "Wolters Kluwer 2025 Full-Year Report". https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/news/wolters-kluwer-2025-full-year-report.
2. ↑ "Wolters Kluwer 2025 Full-Year Report". https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/news/wolters-kluwer-2025-full-year-report.
3. ↑ "Annual Report 2024". https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/news/wolters-kluwer-releases-2024-annual-report.
4. ↑ "Wolters Kluwer's Expert Solutions Journey | MIT CISR" (in en). https://cisr.mit.edu/publication/MIT_CISRwp465_WoltersKluwerExpertSolutions_WixomBeathDuaneVanderMeulen.
5. ↑ "Solutions Directory" (in en). https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions.
6. ↑ "Wolters Kluwer Corporate Office Relocated to Alphen aan den". 1 September 2009. https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&tkr=WKL:NA&sid=ajaT3pQBnc1o.
7. ↑ "Offices". https://shop.lww.com/offices.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 "Wolters Kluwer History". http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/wolters-kluwer-nv-history/.
9. ↑ "Wolters Kluwer Says 'Explosive' China Legal Growth Fuels Sales". 30 August 2010. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-31/wolters-kluwer-says-explosive-china-growth-fuels-sales-for-law-firms.html.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Kluwer and Wolters Samsom Groep, the Two Dutch Publishing Groups Planning to Merge, Have Announced That Their Merger Intentions Pre-dated the Elsevier Takeover Bid". Textline Multiple Source Collection. 18 June 1987.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Wolters Kluwer". http://www.ulib.niu.edu/publishers/kluwer.htm.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Wolters Kluwer Law and Business Advantages and Disadvantages". 5 February 2013. http://www.paralegalalliance.com/wolters-kluwer-law-and-business-advantages-and-disadvantages/.
13. ↑ "Liber I Private Equity Investment I Mid Cap I IK Partners". https://ikpartners.com/investments/liber/.
14. ↑ "S&S Sells Two Peripheral Assets". Publishers Weekly. 28 November 1994. http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A15907600/LitRC?sid=googlescholar.
15. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff (23 November 1994). "Aspen Buys Prentice Hall Journals". The Daily Record (Baltimore, Md., United States): pp. 3. ProQuest 389921776. https://www.proquest.com/docview/389921776.
16. ↑ Bean, Joanna; GAZETTE, THE (17 September 1997). "Publisher Plans to Buy Wiley Law Operation/ Deal Probably Will Result in Layoffs for Most of the 44 Employees in Springs Division". The Gazette; Colorado Springs, Colo. (Colorado Springs, Colo., United States, Colorado Springs, Colo.): pp. –1. ProQuest 268129585. ISSN 1531-2607.
17. ↑ Poynder, Richard (4 November 2002). "Kluwer Academic Publishers Sold to Venture Capitalists". http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/NewsBreaks/Kluwer-Academic-Publishers-Sold-to-Venture-Capitalists-17055.asp.
18. ↑ Poynder, Richard (27 May 2003). "BertelsmannSpringer Is Sold to Private Equity Firms". http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/NewsBreaks/BertelsmannSpringer-Is-Sold-to-Private-Equity-Firms-16696.asp.
19. ↑ "Bridgepoint Acquires Wolters Kluwer Education. – Free Online Library". https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Bridgepoint+acquires+Wolters+Kluwer+Education.-a0162469771.
20. ↑ "Wolters Kluwer Health to Acquire UpToDate". 4 September 2008. http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/wolters-kluwer-health-acquire-uptodate.
21. ↑ "Wolters Kluwer Gets FDA Contract". Pharma Marketletter. 5 November 2008.
22. ↑ "Who Are the Best Workplaces in the UK and Europe". http://resources.greatplacetowork.com/news/pdf/uk's_best_workplaces_09.pdf.
23. ↑ "d012397243fd400fb9795e88c9664309". https://assets.contenthub.wolterskluwer.com/api/public/content/d012397243fd400fb9795e88c9664309.
24. ↑ "IVW-Zahlen_Januar". https://www.deutsche-fachpresse.de/fileadmin/fachpresse/upload/bilder-download/markt-studien/ivw_online/2016/IVW-Zahlen_Januar.pdf.
25. ↑ "IVW-Zahlen_Ma__rz". https://www.deutsche-fachpresse.de/fileadmin/fachpresse/upload/bilder-download/markt-studien/ivw_online/2017/170425_IVW-Zahlen_Ma__rz.pdf.
26. ↑ "media_lto". https://media.businessad.de/download/media_lto.pdf.
27. ↑ "Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Acquires FRSGlobal". 24 September 2010. http://www.complianceweek.com/blogs/grc-announcements/wolters-kluwer-financial-services-acquires-frsglobal.
28. ↑ Nagri, Idris (2011-10-17). "Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Acquires SASGAS" (in en-US). https://www.theglobaltreasurer.com/2011/10/17/wolters-kluwer-financial-services-acquires-sasgas/.
29. ↑ "Wolters Kluwer Health Acquires Medknow". Reuters. 7 December 2011. http://in.reuters.com/article/wolters-kluwer-health-acquires-medknow-idINDEE7B608T20111207.
30. ↑ DiStefano, Joseph N. (17 September 2013). "Medical Publisher to Close Ambler Office, Move Workers". The Philadelphia Inquirer: p. A14. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21214491/medical_publisher_to_close_ambler_office/.
31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 "Global Publishing Leaders 2013: Wolters Kluwer". 19 July 2013. http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/financial-reporting/article/58357-global-publishing-leaders-2013-wolters-kluwer.html.
32. ↑ Panchuk, Kerri. "Wolters Kluwer Financial Services acquires FinArch" (in en-US). https://www.housingwire.com/articles/wolters-kluwer-financial-services-acquires-finarch/.
33. ↑ "The Supercomputer Will See You Now". 3 December 2012. http://fortune.com/2012/12/03/the-supercomputer-will-see-you-now/.
34. ↑ "M&A and IPOs". 20 May 2013. http://fortune.com/2013/05/20/ma-and-ipos-6/.
35. ↑ "Wolters Kluwer Unit Takes Over CitizenHawk". M&A Navigator. 10 September 2013.
36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 "Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Closes Buy of Svenson". Internet Business News. 2 September 2013.
37. ↑ "Wolters Kluwer Becomes Fifth Participant in the AAISalliance". Insurance Broadcasting. 29 April 2014.
38. ↑ "Wolters Kluwer Health Brings Out UpToDate Anywhere in UK". Health & Beauty Close-Up. 30 May 2014.
39. ↑ "Wolters Kluwer Health Launches UpToDate Anywhere in Western Europe". Worldwide Computer Products News. 27 May 2014.
40. ↑ "Deals of the Day: Questcor Pharma Agrees to $5.6 Billion Deal". 8 April 2014. http://fortune.com/2014/04/08/deals-of-the-day-questcor-pharma-agrees-to-5-6-billion-deal/.
41. ↑ Magazine, D. (2016-03-30). "Cybersecurity Firm Armor Appoints Diana Massaro as CMO" (in en-US). https://www.dmagazine.com/business-economy/2016/03/cybersecurity-firm-armor-appoints-diana-massaro-as-cmo/.
42. ↑ "Wolters Kluwer Health Taps Universidade Anhembi Morumbi to Introduce Drug Information Resources in Brazil". Professional Services Close-Up. 19 July 2014.
43. ↑ "Wolters Kluwer, CCH eSign Solution Wins Prestigious Tax & Accounting Technology Innovation Award". India Investment News. 3 June 2014.
44. ↑ Treadway, Clint (2014-06-03). "Honoring Innovation: 2014 Awards Spotlight Mobile Technologies" (in en-US). https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/2014/06/03/honoring-innovation-2014-awards-spotlight-mobile-technologies/15404/.
45. ↑ "2014 Finalists". http://www.siia.net/codies/2014/finalists.asp.
46. ↑ "Wolters Kluwer and Broadridge Tackle Tax Compliance". 13 August 2014. http://www.assetservicingtimes.com/assetservicesnews/article.php?article_id=4956.
47. ↑ "Wolters Kluwer Health Introduces UpToDate Anywhere in Latin America". 2 September 2014. http://www.uptodate.com/home/wolters-kluwer-health-introduces-uptodate-anywhere-latin-america.
48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 "Wolters Kluwer, CCH Continues IRS Tech Partnership". 14 September 2014. http://www.accountingtoday.com/accounting-technology/news/wolters-kluwer-chh-continues-irs-tech-partnership71970-1.html.
49. ↑ "Wolters Kluwer Buys Enablon: Another Corporate Giant Enters into the EH&S Market". 31 May 2016. http://www.verdantix.com/blog/wolters-kluwer-buys-enablon-another-corporate-giant-enters-into-the-eh-s-market.
50. ↑ "CMA Gives Green Light for Peninsula Acquisition of Croner Group". 13 May 2016. https://www.consultancy.uk/news/12048/cma-gives-green-light-for-peninsula-acquisition-of-croner-group.
51. ↑ White, Sara (2 October 2017). "Wolters Kluwer Sells CCH Information to Peninsula Subsidiary Croner-i". CCH Daily. https://www.accountancylive.com/wolters-kluwer-sells-cch-information-peninsula-subsidiary-croner-i.
52. ↑ 52.0 52.1 "Wolters Kluwer to Divest Its U.S. Legal Education Business" (Press release). Wolters Kluwer. 27 September 2021. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
53. ↑ Yamamoto, Eric K.; Chon, Margaret; Izumi, Carol L.; Kang, Jerry; Wu, Frank H. (2001). Race, Rights, and Reparation: Law and the Japanese American Internment. Gaithersburg: Aspen Publishers, Inc.. ISBN 0-7355-2393-2. https://archive.org/details/racerightsrepara00yama/mode/2up. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
54. ↑ "Transom Capital Acquires Wolters Kluwer U.S. Legal Education Business" (Press release). Transom Capital Group. 2 December 2021. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 "Wolters Kluwer Digitally Transforms Assurance With Launch of New TeamMate+ Controls Capabilities" (in en-CA). Business Wire. 17 July 2025. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250717339744/en/Wolters-Kluwer-Digitally-Transforms-Assurance-With-Launch-of-New-TeamMate-Controls-Capabilities.
56. ↑ "Wolters Kluwer Appoints Divisional CEOs Creates Fifth Division Dedicated to Corporate Performance & ESG". https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/news/wk-appoints-divisional-ceos-creates-fifth-division-dedicated-to-corporate-performance-and-esg.
57. ↑ "Wolters Kluwer Releases 2024 Annual Report" (in en). https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/news/wolters-kluwer-releases-2024-annual-report.
58. ↑ "Wolters Kluwer's Ongoing Commitment to Sustainablity Recognized in Dow Jones Sustainability World and Europe Indexes 2010". 9 September 2010. https://www.euronext.com/en/content/wolters-kluwers-ongoing-commitment-sustainablity-recognized-dow-jones-sustainability-world-a.
59. ↑ "RobecoSAM's Corporate Sustainability Assessment Companies". http://yearbook.robecosam.com/companies.html.
60. ↑ "2015 GLOBAL 100". http://global100.org/global-100-index/.
61. ↑ Scarcella, Mike (13 September 2024). "Academic Publishers Face Class Action Over 'Peer Review' Pay, Other Restrictions". Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/academic-publishers-face-class-action-over-peer-review-pay-other-restrictions-2024-09-13/.
62. ↑ Abdur-Rahman, Sulaiman (13 September 2024). "'Illegal Conspiracy'?: EDNY Antitrust Class Action Challenges Publishers' Unpaid Peer Review Rule" (in en). https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2024/09/13/illegal-conspiracy-edny-antitrust-class-action-challenges-publishers-unpaid-peer-review-rule/.

## External links

* Mary H. Munroe (2004). "Wolters Kluwer Timeline". The Academic Publishing Industry: A Story of Merger and Acquisition. http://www.ulib.niu.edu/publishers/index.htm.

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