Another hot topic for discussion next year...

3: What new directions for Thomson Corporation?

Next year is going to be a big transformational year for the Thomson Corporation. Its Learning group of companies, which accounts for over a quarter of its $8.4bn revenues (in 2005), is up for sale. Bidding starts in January, and the company will clearly want a quick exit. The marketplace is currently in turmoil, with Thomson Gale's arch-rival ProQuest having sold its Information & Learning operation earlier this month to Cambridge Information Group, which also owns Cambridge Scientific Abstracts and RR Bowker. So what will happen with all the cash released by the sale of these operations? What direction will Thomson turn in, given that it's had such an adventurous past (dabbling in oil and gas, travel and newspapers along the way). Will it break out in unexpected directions, or stick to the information industry? Maybe it would be interested in an alliance with Germany's Springer Science+Business – that would give arch-rival Elsevier something to think about in its quest for global domination.