For over 50 years, it has been the purpose of Cambridge Information Group to meet modern challenges with profitable outcomes. Achieving this goal has required our team’s precise adaptation and the leadership of remarkable individuals. Discover our story below.
The Cambridge Information Group story begins in 1971 with Bob Snyder and a partner. This first decade proved our ambition to acquire and build businesses that could have a positive impact on large numbers of people. The drive shown by our founders continues to inspire our organization 50 years later.
1971
Robert N. Snyder (Bob) and Philip E. Hixon (Phil) acquire Cambridge Scientific Abstract (CSA)
1976
Founders acquire National Standards Association
1977
Founders acquire Disclosure Incorporated
1977
Disclosure Information Group is founded with CSA, Disclosure, and National Standards as holdings
1983
CSA partners with the National Library of Medicine to create Medline on Disc, one of the first CD-ROM databases
1987
Disclosure is sold to VNU, a Dutch publishing conglomerate
1987
Disclosure Information Group is renamed Cambridge Information Group (CIG)
1993
National Standards Association is sold to Information Handling Services (IHS)
1994
CSA launches its Internet Journal Service, a pioneering internet offering
1996
UMI launches first Internet-accessible instance called ProQuest Direct
The belief that strategic acquisitions can have a positive business impact is crucial to our current mission, and the 2000s saw a rapid growth in this thinking. This era offered diversification for the organization since the image and purpose of Cambridge Information Group was well established. For instance, the Sotheby’s Institute of Art (SIA), an institution of higher education devoted to the study of art joined our portfolio.
2001
CIG acquires R.R. Bowker, a leader in bibliographic information on published works
2001
CIG and partners found RefWorks, a leading web-based bibliography management software tool
2003
Andrew M. Snyder joins CIG from Goldman Sachs
2003
CIG acquires Sotheby’s Institute of Art (SIA) – London Campus
2004
R.R. Bowker acquires Syndetic Solutions
2004
Andrew M. Snyder becomes the CEO of Cambridge Information Group (CIG)
2005
CIG acquires Sotheby’s Institute of Art (SIA) – New York Campus
2005
CIG and Navtech (NAVH) acquire the European Aeronautical Group AB
2005
CIG acquires Community of Science (CoS), an international collaborative network of scientists
2007
CIG invests in Hammond’s Candies, the largest producer of handmade candy canes in the US
2007
CIG closes a transformative deal with the purchase of ProQuest Information and Learning (PQIL)
2007
CIG merges CSA with PQIL to form ProQuest with Abry Partners acquiring a minority stake in ProQuest
2007
CIG takes Navtech (NAVH) private
2007
CIG acquires East Coast Music Production and launches Music Makers Holdings (Bach to Rock)
2008
CIG acquires 100% of RefWorks and merges the business with ProQuest
2008
ProQuest acquires Dialog
During this decade, we saw the success of ProQuest have a direct impact on the global information space for students, researchers, and knowledge seekers. We continued the measured growth of ProQuest through thoughtful acquisitions that improved value for our customers. In 2011, CIG became one of the largest shareholders of Blucora (BCOR) and partnered with the management team to execute a very successful strategy of transitioning it from a legacy business to a leading provider of technology-enabled, tax-focused financial solutions. Our emphasis on identifying unique opportunities and the ability to partner with various management teams has always been vital to our growth as an organization.
2010
ProQuest acquires IBSS from the London School of Economics
2010
ProQuest acquires the Congressional Information Service and University of Publications of America
2011
ProQuest acquires Ebrary, an acclaimed ebook pioneer for the library market
2011
CIG invests in InfoSpace (later named Blucora), and Andrew M. Snyder joins the Board of Directors
2012
Blucora (BCOR) acquires TaxAct, an Online Tax Solutions Company
2012
Hammond’s Candies acquires Old Dominion Peanut, the largest maker of peanut brittle in the US
2013
ProQuest acquires EBL, a leading global ebook aggregator
2013
Goldman Sachs acquires minority stake in ProQuest, including the stake held by ABRY partners
2014
Blucora (BCOR) acquires HowStuffWorks from Discovery Communications
2014
ProQuest acquires Pi2 Solutions, an industry leader in product literature databases
2014
CIG participates in the purchase of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRaiders, NY Yankees Class AAA Affiliate
2015
New York Times and CIG Education Group launch NYT Education, a new education initiative
2015
ProQuest acquires SIPX, a creator of unique course material solutions for universities
2015
ProQuest acquires Coutts Information Services and MyiLibrary
2015
ProQuest acquires ExLibris Group, a world leader in the provision of cloud-based library solutions
2015
Blucora acquires HD Vest, the leading independent broker-dealer providing wealth management and advisory solutions
2016
CIG completes the sale of Navtech to Airbus
2016
ProQuest acquires Alexander Street, a provider of streaming video and primary source collections
2018
Ex Libris acquires Research Research Ltd.
2019
Ex Libris acquires RapidILL
Innovation is at the core of our process. Innovative thinking leads to successful acquisitions, timely investments, and the future accomplishments of our companies. Most importantly, innovation on behalf of organizations such as CIG Education Group and Clarivate can influence the way in which future generations improve our world. This mission is not confined to the era listed above — our belief in promoting innovation continues to this day.
2020
Ex Libris Completes the Acquisition of Innovative Interface
2021
CIG Completes the Sale of ProQuest to Clarivate for $5.3 billion
