Mumbai, December 14, 2005: Infomedia India Limited, India’s leading special interest and directory publishing company, has announced forming a joint venture with the world’s leading publisher and information provider Reed Business Information US (RBI US), a division of US $ 8.5 billion Reed Elsevier Group plc. Reed will hold a 51% stake in the resulting entity, Reed Infomedia India Pvt. Ltd.

Reed Business Information is the world's largest B2B publishing unit with revenue of $US 2.3 bn. and operating profits of $US 400 mn. It offers business professionals in the media, manufacturing, electronics, construction and retail industries more than 100 market-leading business-to-business publications, 75 webzines and web portals, custom publishing, directories, research and direct-marketing lists.

Reed’s portfolio includes titles such as Variety, JCK, Control Engineering and Logistics Management. This JV will license the titles from Reed Business Information to bring into India. Says Mr. Prakash Iyer, Managing Director, Infomedia India Ltd., “We are delighted to be Reed’s publishing partners in India. With Infomedia’s local industry insights and Reed’s global expertise, we are hoping to provide Indian businesses with high-quality content in magazines that become mandatory reading.”

Says Mr James Casella, Vice Chairman of Reed Business, who is also overall responsible for development of BRIC markets (Brazil, Russia, India & China), “Reed Business is excited by the opportunity to enter the fast-growing Indian marketplace. We are looking to combine Reed Business Information's global brands and vertical industry expertise with the publishing capabilities and local knowledge of Infomedia India to create the pre-eminent portfolio of B2B titles in India." Confirming that India is a priority market for Reed, he added, "India, with its growing consumerism, a buoyant economy, and mass affluent population, has opened up a market for critical business information - a space where Reed is the acknowledged leader.”