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Maxwell Communication Corporation

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Maxwell Communication Corporation plc
IndustryMedia
Founded1964
Defunct1991
FateWent into administration
HeadquartersLondon, UK
Key people
Robert Maxwell (Chairman)

Maxwell Communication Corporation plc was a leading British media business. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

History

The company was established in 1964 when Hazell Sun merged with Purnell & Sons to form the British Printing Corporation.[1] In 1967 the British Printing Corporation merged its magazines into Haymarket Group.[2] During the 1970s the British Printing Corporation was involved in many disputes with trade unions.[3] In 1978 such a dispute led to The Times and Sunday Times not being published for 10 months.[3]

In July 1981 Robert Maxwell launched a dawn raid on the Company acquiring a stake of 29%; the following year he secured full control of it.[3] He changed the name of the company to British Printing & Communications Corporation in March 1982 and to Maxwell Communication Corporation in October 1987.

The company acquired Macmillan Publishers, a large US publisher, in 1988.[4] It went on to buy Science Research Associates and the Official Airline Guide later that year.[5]

The company went into administration in 1991 following the death of Robert Maxwell.[6] Its properties were sold to various media companies. McGraw Hill acquired that part of Science Research Associates it did not already own outright,[7] OAG was acquired by Reed Elsevier,[8] while Macmillan was folded into Simon & Schuster.[9]

References

  1. ^ Records of Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd, printers, Aylesbury, 1709-c.1991. 17 September 1991.
  2. ^ Haymarket: Timeline Archived 2009-03-30 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b c Peter Robinson, Chairman and CEO, Obituary, The Times, 15 November 2007.
  4. ^ "Maxwell Lifts Macmillan Takeover Bid to $86.80 a Share", New York Times, 16 September 1988.
  5. ^ "Airline Guide being sold to Maxwell", New York Times, 31 October 1988.
  6. ^ "Bankruptcy Explanation By Maxwell", New York Times, 18 December 1991.
  7. ^ "McGraw-Hill and Maxwell Form Venture". The New York Times. 18 May 1989. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  8. ^ Stanley Ziemba (19 August 1993). "British Firm Near Deal To Acquire Airline Guides". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  9. ^ "After 65 years, Free Press to be absorbed into Simon & Schuster flagship". Melville House. 24 October 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2018.


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