Maxwell Communication Corporation

Maxwell Communication Corporation plc was a leading British media business. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Maxwell Communication Corporation plc
IndustryMedia
FateWent into administration
Founded1964
Defunct1991
HeadquartersLondon, UK
Key people
Robert Maxwell (Chairman)

History

The company was established in 1964 when Hazell Sun merged with Purnell & Sons to form the British Printing Corporation.[1] In 1967 the British Printing Corporation merged its magazines into Haymarket Group.[2] During the 1970s the British Printing Corporation was involved in many disputes with trade unions.[3] In 1978 such a dispute led to The Times and Sunday Times not being published for 10 months.[3]

In July 1981 Robert Maxwell launched a dawn raid on the Company acquiring a stake of 29%; the following year he secured full control of it.[3] He changed the name of the company to British Printing & Communications Corporation in March 1982 and to Maxwell Communication Corporation in October 1987.

The company acquired Macmillan Publishers, a large US publisher, in 1988.[4] It went on to buy Science Research Associates and the Official Airline Guide later that year.[5]

The company went into administration in 1991 following the death of Robert Maxwell.[6] Its properties were sold to various media companies. McGraw Hill acquired that part of Science Research Associates it did not already own outright,[7] OAG was acquired by Reed Elsevier,[8] while Macmillan was folded into Simon & Schuster.[9]

References
  1. Records of Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd, printers, Aylesbury, 1709-c.1991. 17 September 1991.
  2. Haymarket: Timeline Archived 2009-03-30 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Peter Robinson, Chairman and CEO, Obituary, The Times, 15 November 2007.
  4. "Maxwell Lifts Macmillan Takeover Bid to $86.80 a Share", New York Times, 16 September 1988.
  5. "Airline Guide being sold to Maxwell", New York Times, 31 October 1988.
  6. "Bankruptcy Explanation By Maxwell", New York Times, 18 December 1991.
  7. "McGraw-Hill and Maxwell Form Venture". The New York Times. 18 May 1989. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  8. Stanley Ziemba (19 August 1993). "British Firm Near Deal To Acquire Airline Guides". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  9. "After 65 years, Free Press to be absorbed into Simon & Schuster flagship". Melville House. 24 October 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2018.


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