Consultancy services and market analysis for the $358 billion global information industry entered a new age today, as Outsell announced it had acquired its major competitor in Europe, London-based Electronic Publishing Services Limited (EPS).

"The acquisition makes Outsell the only research and advisory firm covering all aspects of the information industry on a worldwide basis," said a spokeswoman for the firm.

The merger may see the name EPS disappear in the near-future, but it will not see the disappearance of David Worlock (left), the industry giant whose name and face have become synonymous with the company since its inception in 1985.

Worlock, who owns 51% of the shares in EPS Holdings, the parent company which owns EPS Ltd, will remain as Chief Research Fellow in the merged organisation. The 14 staff working for EPS will be merged with Outsell's employees and consultants to create a new team with "60 industry analysts and professionals". No information has been given on possible redundancies.

Both companies claim strong client bases in the STM sector, but also unique strengths in other areas - EPS in legal, education and training, while Outsell claims expertise in B2B trade, market & IT research and Search & Aggregation.

Worlock said, in a statement: "EPS has built its business in Europe, and latterly in the US, by analyzing the evolution of the information marketplace and advising participants and investors on current status and future prospects. We have immense respect for the contribution of Outsell in parallel to this, and in particular their unique contributions to the study of user behavior in these emerging new marketplaces."

The terms of the deal between the two privately-held companies have not been disclosed. The last filed accounts for EPS Ltd at Companies House, for the year 2005, showed it made profits of £84,699 on an income of £674,684; down from £100,090 profits and billings of £686,948 the previous year.

San Francisco-based Outsell was co-founded by Anthea Stratigos, currently its CEO, and Greg Chagaris, currently its chief sales officer, in 1994.