Reed Elsevier (Reed) announced that its $3.5 billion cash purchase of risk management company ChoicePoint is scheduled to close by the summer of 2008. The company also announced plans to sell its slow-growing magazine publishing segment, Reed Business Information (RBI). Reed is moving away from the publishing business and aspiring to provide risk management services and online workflow solutions. The company explains that RBI is cyclical, dependent on advertising and unable to achieve the level of growth the company seeks. It believes greater growth can be achieved in the 'online workflow solution sectors.' Executives hope ChoicePoint's acquisition 'will help Reed consolidate and streamline its technology and operations.' One analyst agrees that the merger and acquisition (M&A) will probably be fundamentally successful, if Reed properly executes the business model and integrates ChoicePoint's insurance products into its own portfolio. Another analyst says Microsoft's attempts to acquire Yahoo! and Reed's acquisition of Choicepoint signal healthy M&A activity for the marketing sector in 2008. Choicepoint will combine with the Risk & Information Analytics Group of LexisNexis, also owned by Reed. Both companies have suffered information leaks in the past. Choicepoint affected 160,000 consumers in 2004, LexisNexis affected over 300,000 in 2005. Since then, their administrative controls have become more stringent. Reed's moving its risk and information analytics business to ChoicePoint's headquarters in Alpharetta, Georgia. There are no announcements yet about a name change for ChoicePoint or any change in employees.