Springer Nature

Springer Nature is an English-German academic publishing company created by the May 2015 merger of Springer Science+Business Media and Holtzbrinck Publishing Group's Nature Publishing Group, Palgrave Macmillan, and Macmillan Education.[2] The company made revenues of €1.72 billion in 2019.[1]

Springer Nature
TypePrivately held Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien with an Aktiengesellschaft as general partner
IndustryPublishing
Founded2015 (2015)
HeadquartersLondon, UK (global)
Berlin, Germany (corporate)
New York City, USA (sales)
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
  • Frank Vrancken Peeters (CEO)
RevenueUS$1.72 billion[1] (2019)
OwnersHoltzbrinck Publishing Group (53%)
BC Partners (47%)
Number of employees
10,000[1] (2019)

History

Springer Nature was formed in 2015 by the merger of Nature Publishing Group, Palgrave Macmillan and Macmillan Education (held by Holtzbrinck Publishing Group) with Springer Science+Business Media (held by BC Partners). Plans for the merger were first announced on 15 January 2015.[3] The transaction was concluded in May 2015 with Holtzbrinck having the majority 53% share.[4]

The company originates from a number of journals and publishing houses, notably Springer-Verlag, which was founded in 1842 by Julius Springer in Berlin[5] (the grandfather of Bernhard Springer who founded Springer Publishing in 1950 in New York),[6] Nature Publishing Group which publishes Nature since 1869,[7] and Macmillan Education, which goes back to Macmillan Publishers founded in 1843.

After the merger, former Springer Science+Business Media CEO Derk Haank became CEO of Springer Nature. When he retired by the end of 2017, he was succeeded by Daniel Ropers, the co-founder and long-time CEO of bol.com.[8] In September 2019, Ropers was replaced by Frank Vrancken Peeters.[9]

IPO attempts

IPO attempts in May 2018 and Autumn 2020 were unfruitful due to unfavourable market conditions.[10]

Controversies

In 2017, the company agreed to block access to hundreds of articles on its Chinese site, cutting off access to articles on Tibet, Taiwan, and China's political elite.[11]

Springer Nature reported in 2018 a mean gender pay gap of 17.6% in its UK workforce, while the median was 15.2%.[12]

The company retracted a paper in 2019, in its journal BMC Emergency Medicine due to dubious peer-review process (a herpetologist could have denied the publication of the paper). [13]

In August 2020, Springer Nature was reported to have rejected the publication of an article at the behest of its co-publisher, Wenzhou Medical University, from a Taiwanese doctor because the word "China" was not placed after "Taiwan."[14]

In July 2020, Springer Nature retracted a paper in the journal Society due to dubious review process and criticism regarding racism.[15]

Subsidiaries

References
  1. "Springer Nature Group Key Facts". Springer Nature Group. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  2. "Springer Nature created following merger completion". Springer. 6 May 2015.
  3. "Nature publisher to merge with Springer". Times Higher Education. 15 January 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  4. Caroline Carpenter (May 6, 2015). "Completed merger forms 'Springer Nature'". The Bookseller. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  5. "Springer celebrates 175 years since its founding". KnowledgeSpeak.com. 11 May 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  6. "Do you mean Springer, Springer or Springer?". Springer.com. 2014. Archived from the original on 27 December 2016.
  7. "Nature". Phys.org. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  8. "Bol.com's Ropers to take Haank's role at Springer Nature". The Bookseller. 6 May 2015.
  9. "Springer Nature Announces CEO Succession: Frank Vrancken Peeters appointed Chief Executive Officer. Daniel Ropers to step down. | Corporate Affairs Homepage | Springer Nature". group.springernature.com.
  10. Benjamin Robertson, Ruth David, Jan-Henrik Foerster (3 October 2020). "Europe IPO Revival Peters Out as Year's Top German Deal Delayed". Bloomberg.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. "The Mystery of the Exiled Billionaire Whistle-Blower". January 10, 2018.
  12. "Springer Nature reports 15.12% pay gap". www.thebookseller.com. The Bookseller. Retrieved 2019-08-11.
  13. retractionwatch. "A snake bites once, but its picture is used twice".
  14. Tang, Jane (1 September 2020). "Springer Nature Journal Rejects Article by Taiwan Doctor Over Country Name". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  15. retractionwatch. "Springer Nature retracts paper that hundreds called 'overtly racist'".


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.