Loislaw.com Accepts Dutch Acquisition Offer

Arkansas’ largest Web-based information technology company, Loislaw.com Inc., agreed Dec. 19 to be acquired by Dutch publisher Wolters Kluwer NV. The $95 million transaction is expected to be completed by the spring of 2001, but it is subject to U.S. regulatory clearances.

Loislaw.com, which posted a $3.7 million net loss for the third quarter, is based in Van Buren and has 490 employees, 385 of which work in the Arkansas River Valley. The online legal information provider has projected year-end 2000 sales of $14 million.

The $95 million sale price breaks down to about $4.35 per share. Holders of about 67 percent of shares, including founder and CEO Kyle D. Parker, agreed to tender their shares.

News of the sale sent shares of Loislaw.com up 181.25 percent during morning trading Dec.19. Shares reached $4.22 by about 10:30 a.m. and closed at $1.50.

Parker, who founded the company in 1987 and took it public in October 1999, could not be reached for comment, and other company officials would not comment on how the sale would affect the firm’s Arkansas presence.