Finding legal, business, or scientific information is a cinch thanks to Reed Elsevier Group. The company's LexisNexis brand offers online, CD-ROM, and hard copy legal, corporate, and government information, as well as risk solutions. Its Elsevier unit publishes scientific, technical, and medical information. Reed Elsevier also offers data services and publishes trade – more... magazines through Reed Business Information (RBI), and organizes international exhibitions through Reed Exhibitions. Revenues come from subscriptions, circulation sales, advertising, and exhibition fees. Reed Elsevier primarily operates in North America and Europe. Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV each own 50% of Reed Elsevier Group.

The company's largest revenue generator is LexisNexis. The unit accounts for more than 40% of sales, and was in 2011 divided into the LexisNexis Risk Solutions and LexisNexis Legal - Professional businesses. The majority of LexisNexis Risk Solutions' revenue comes from credit risk firm ChoicePoint, which Reed Elsevier Group acquired in 2008 for a whopping $4.1 billion.

Its Elsevier unit publishes scientific journals (both print and electronic) and books, and offers information though databases and software. Elsevier is home to SciVerse, an integrated platform where researchers can access ScienceDirect, Scopus, and additional scientific Web content. Meanwhile, Reed Exhibitions is the largest events organizer in the world, producing more than 475 events in some 35 countries. Such events include the successful Cloud Computing show in Japan, and the PAX East games in Boston. The company's RBI business publishes a portfolio of trade magazines that includes New Scientist and Flightglobal.

The company maintains head offices in the Netherlands (Amsterdam), the UK (London), and the US (New York). It has additional operations throughout Canada, Europe, and the US, as well as in several other countries in Africa and Asia/Pacific.

In fiscal year 2011 Reed Elsevier Group reported total revenue decline by 1% to £6.2 billion, but its pre-tax profit rose from £768 million to £948 million, while net debt was cut from £3.5 billion to £3.4 billion. The company cites growth in medical research and electronic solutions while print products continue to decline.

Reed Elsevier Group in 2012 acquired Accuity Holdings, a US provider of online subscription-based data solutions for the financial services industry. It purchased Accuity from Investcorp for £343 million (some $563 million) in order to expand the data businesses of its RBI business.

The acquisition follows a major reorganization at the underperforming RBI. In 2010 and 2009 it sold a chunk of its business, divesting several magazines to reduce costs. Titles sold include Broadcasting - Cable, Multichannel News, Interior Design, and Furniture Today. And though it initially kept venerable Hollywood industry journal Variety, in 2012 it sold that title as well. Along with the disposals, RBI has adopted a focus on data services and online marketing solutions such as ICIS (a global information and pricing service for the petrochemicals and energy sector), and Hotfrog (a global online business directory).  – less