Highwire Press to acquire Semantico

Scholarly publishing company HighWire Press is to acquire Semantico, a provider of technology and services for the scholarly publishing market. Highwire says the acquisition will bring it an increased capacity for technological innovation, a broader range of publishing expertise, and a more powerful range of products.

Dan Filby, Highwire CEO, said: 'Innovation and customer-centricity are at the core of HighWire. The addition of the Semantico solution set and team enhances our ability to deliver an unparalleled mix of functionality in our product suite, serving publishers across the spectrum of the industry. I am very enthusiastic to announce this acquisition which is in direct alignment with both our long-term growth and value creation strategies.'

Semantico chairman Richard Padley said: 'I couldn’t be more excited to have our team join HighWire. The increased scale and capability of the combined organisations will deliver significant value to current and future publishers.'

Adding to HighWire’s recently opened office in Belfast, the new UK location and team in Brighton is aimed at further strengthening the service for HighWire’s global customers and provideing additional operational support for HighWire’s growing North America, UK, and EMEA market.

Together HighWire and Semantico provide digital publishing solutions to support more than 4,000 web sites for some 160 publishers. Each month, more than 60 million unique visitors engage with content across platforms.

Mike Keller, vice provost, academic counsel, Stanford University Libraries and HighWire Board member, concluded: 'HighWire continues to provide enhanced value to their customers and with this acquisition are poised to further their efforts as the premier publishing technology provider in the industry.'