Two integrated library system (ILS) vendors in recent weeks have announced major acquisitions. First, open source solutions outfit LibLime July 29 announced the acquisition of CARE Affiliates. The sale, said LibLime, includes “select products, related services and domain names along with associated service contracts.” CEO Joshua Ferraro was optimistic about the opportunities he saw for LibLime in the acquisition: “This arrangement gives us increased capacity to deliver open source and open architecture solutions for libraries in the strategic area of metasearching.” Upon the sale's finalization, CARE Affiliates president Carl Grant will be returning to his former position as president of Ex Libris, North America. Grant told LJ, “What people need to understand about my move is that I've experienced the power of collaboration and community through my company, CARE Affiliates. When Ex Libris announced its Open Platform Strategy [see InfoTech LJ 8/08, p. 21] and asked me to return and bring that understanding to bear on its new strategy, it was a perfect fit. I obviously know a lot about the company, its products, and a good number of its customers. I'm excited to see Ex Libris moving in this direction and believe [it is], once again, setting the example others will follow in North America. I'm very pleased to be part of it.”

Leeds Equity buys Ex Libris

Following Grant's return, Leeds Equity Partners, a New York–based private equity firm, purchased the Ex Libris Group for an undisclosed sum. Leeds describes itself as “the largest private equity fund in the United States focused on investments in the education, training, and related business services and information industries.” “Like the world around libraries and libraries themselves, Ex Libris is changing rapidly, and the announcements of the last week certainly underscored that fact,” Grant told LJ. “Leeds Equity Partners is heavily invested in educational technology companies, and it brings both the expertise and resources that will help us carry these ideas forward. For libraries, these changes mean a healthy, stable, strong vendor led by an experienced management team delivering exciting new products while maintaining and enhancing existing products.”