CCH to Be Acquired by Dutch Publisher

CCH Inc., which provides tax and business law information, software and services, said Monday it agreed to be acquired by Dutch publisher Wolters Kluwer for $1.9 billion.

The acquisition would make Wolters Kluwer, with expected revenue of $2.4 billion for the year, one of the world’s leading producers of electronic and print products for legal, tax and health care professionals.

Wolters Kluwer will launch a tender offer of $55.50 a share for all outstanding CCH shares. The offer is expected to expire on Jan. 4, CCH said.

CCH’s stock soared $26.875 to closed at $54.625 on Nasdaq.

CCH said holders of a majority of its shares have agreed to tender their shares and to vote for the merger. The same per-share price is applicable for Class A voting and Class B non-voting shares, it said.

“The decision to sell CCH was not an easy one,” said Oakleigh Thorne, president and chief executive of the company, which was founded by his great-great-grandfather more than 103 years ago.

“However, after a thoughtful, thorough analysis of advantages it offered CCH and its shareholders--combined with dramatic and rapid changes in the industry--we found the offer very compelling.”

Wolters Kluwer said it is impressed with CCH’s position in the tax markets and with its electronic products.

CCH said it expects the sale to have no substantial impact on its employees or management.

Amsterdam-based Wolters Kluwer, which has operations in the United States and throughout Europe, was recently rumored to be interested in buying West Publishing, a major player in the fast-growing U.S. on-line legal information market.

CCH, with estimated revenue of $600 million this year, has units in Australia, Canada, Britain, New Zealand, Singapore and Japan.