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Under terms of the agreement, Addison-Wesley would merge with Pearson's educational and professional book publishing unit, Longman Holdings of White Plains, N.Y. The new company would be called Addison-Wesley Longman.
Nevertheless, the merger agreement is subject to approval by two-thirds of the shareholders of Addison-Wesley's Class A and Class B stock. However, Addison-Wesley said it has granted proxies and options to Pearson that would ensure that at least 90 percent of the Class A holders and 32 percent of the Class B holders would approve the transaction.
In London, a Pearson spokesman said negotiations with Addison-Wesley began last December. However, the diversified publishing giant has had its eye on Addison-Wesley for more than a decade, primarily because of Addison-Wesley's strength in engineering and computer science texts.