As ¢led with the Securities and Exchange Commission on 13 March 2001 SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 (Mark One) & REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) or 12(g) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 or &6 ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 or 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the ¢scal year ended 31 December 2000 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 INTERNATIONAL P.L.C. 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 Van de Sande Bakhuyzenstraat 4 London SW1H 0EX 1061 AG 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 International P.L.C.: American Depositary Shares (each representing four Reed International P.L.C. ordinary shares) New York Stock Exchange Ordinary shares of 12.5p each (the ``Reed International ordinary shares'') New York Stock Exchange* Elsevier NV: American Depositary Shares (each representing two Elsevier NV ordinary shares) New York Stock Exchange Ordinary shares of k0.06 each (the ``Elsevier 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 31 December 2000: Title of each class Number of outstanding shares Reed International P.L.C.: Ordinary shares of 12.5p each ........................................................................................................................ 1,262,450,655 Elsevier NV: Ordinary shares of k0.06 each ........................................................................................................................ 735,717,794 R-shares of k0.6 each (held by a subsidiary of Reed International P.L.C.) ...................................................... 4,049,951 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 Structure.......................................................................................................................................... 11 History and development................................................................................................................. 12 Business description and organisation..............................................................................................12 Strategy ........................................................................................................................................... 26 Property, plants & equipment .......................................................................................................... 27 ITEM 5: OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTS.................................................... 28 Operating results ö Reed Elsevier ...................................................................................................28 Liquidity and capital resources ö Reed Elsevier.............................................................................. 36 Operating results ö Reed International and Elsevier ....................................................................... 36 Trend information ........................................................................................................................... 37 ITEM 6: DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEES ..................................................... 38 Directors and senior management....................................................................................................38 Compensation ................................................................................................................................. 40 Board practices................................................................................................................................ 45 Employees ....................................................................................................................................... 46 Share ownership .............................................................................................................................. 47 ITEM 7: MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS ................................... 54 Major shareholders.......................................................................................................................... 54 Related party transactions ............................................................................................................... 54 ITEM 8: FINANCIAL INFORMATION ........................................................................................................ 55 ITEM 9: THE OFFER AND LISTING............................................................................................................ 56 Trading markets .............................................................................................................................. 56 ITEM 10: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION..................................................................................................... 58 Memorandum and articles of association ö Reed International ...................................................... 58 Memorandum and articles of association ö Elsevier ....................................................................... 60 Material contracts ........................................................................................................................... 63 Exchange controls ........................................................................................................................... 63 Taxation.......................................................................................................................................... 64 Documents on display ..................................................................................................................... 65 Page ITEM 11: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK................. 66 ITEM 12: DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES OTHER THAN EQUITY SECURITIES Reed International......................................................................................................................... N/A Elsevier.......................................................................................................................................... N/A Reed Elsevier................................................................................................................................. N/A PART II ITEM 13: DEFAULTS, DIVIDEND ARREARAGES AND DELINQUENCIES Reed International......................................................................................................................... N/A Elsevier.......................................................................................................................................... N/A ITEM 14: MATERIAL MODIFICATIONS TO THE RIGHTS OF SECURITY HOLDERS AND USE OF PROCEEDS Reed International......................................................................................................................... N/A Elsevier.......................................................................................................................................... N/A ITEM 15: [Reserved] ITEM 16: [Reserved] PART III ITEM 17: FINANCIAL STATEMENTS *......................................................................................................