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2002 or & TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 or 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the transition period from to Commission ¢le number: 1-3334 REED ELSEVIER PLC REED ELSEVIER NV (Exact name of Registrant as speci¢ed in its charter) (Exact name of Registrant as speci¢ed in its charter) England The Netherlands (Jurisdiction of incorporation or organisation) (Jurisdiction of incorporation or organisation) 25 Victoria Street Sara Burgerhartstraat 25 London SW1H 0EX 1055 KV Amsterdam England The Netherlands (Address of principal executive o⁄ces) (Address of principal executive o⁄ces) Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to section 12(b) of the Act: Title of each class Name of exchange on which registered Reed Elsevier PLC: American Depositary Shares (each representing four Reed Elsevier PLC ordinary shares) New York Stock Exchange Ordinary shares of 12.5p each (the ‘‘Reed Elsevier PLC ordinary shares’’) New York Stock Exchange* Reed Elsevier NV: American Depositary Shares (each representing two Reed Elsevier NV ordinary shares) New York Stock Exchange Ordinary shares of k0.06 each (the ‘‘Reed Elsevier NV ordinary shares’’) New York Stock Exchange* * Listed, not for trading, but only in connection with the listing of the applicable Registrant’s American Depositary Shares issued in respect thereof. Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act: None Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuers’ classes of capital or common stock as of December 31, 2002: Title of each class Reed Elsevier PLC: Number of outstanding shares Ordinary shares of 12.5p each ......................................................................................................................... 1,268,374,499 Reed Elsevier NV: Ordinary shares of k0.06 each.......................................................................................................................... 738,355,094 R-shares of k0.60 each (held by a subsidiary of Reed Elsevier PLC)................................................................. 4,679,249 Indicate by check mark whether the registrants (1) have ¢led all reports required to be ¢led by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to ¢le such reports), and (2) have been subject to such ¢ling requirements for the past 90 days: Yes &6 No & Indicate by check mark which ¢nancial statement item the registrants have elected to follow: Item 17 & Item 18 &6 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page GENERAL................................................................................................................................................................... 1 SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS.............................................................. 2 PART I ITEM 1: IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISERS..................... N/A ITEM 2: OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE........................................................ N/A ITEM 3: KEY INFORMATION ........................................................................................................... 3 Selected ¢nancial data........................................................................................................... 3 Risk factors........................................................................................................................... 9 ITEM 4: INFORMATION ON REED ELSEVIER............................................................................... 11 Background .......................................................................................................................... 11 Business description and organisation ................................................................................... 12 Property, plants and equipment............................................................................................. 23 ITEM 5: OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTS ......................................... 24 Operating results ö Reed Elsevier ........................................................................................ 24 Liquidity and capital resources ö Reed Elsevier ................................................................... 34 Operating results ö Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV ............................................. 36 Trend information ................................................................................................................37 ITEM 6: DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEES .......................................... 38 Directors............................................................................................................................... 38 Senior management............................................................................................................... 40 Compensation....................................................................................................................... 40 Board practices ..................................................................................................................... 45 Employees ............................................................................................................................ 47 Share ownership.................................................................................................................... 48 ITEM 7: MAJOR