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Journal ownership transfers, since 2022

Journals sold in confidence, transferred in the open.

incitee arranges genuine sales of scholarly journals, between owners who want to sell and buyers we have vetted, and then sees each journal across to its new owner in full view: Crossref, the ISSN record, every index it is in, and its own website.

Sell a journal Acquire a journal

Curious what a journal’s public record shows? Take the free first look. It is indicative only.

Rather talk first? Message us on WhatsApp. Messages only; we do not take calls.

Specimen

Memorandum of Transfer

of a scholarly journal

Title
the journal, unchanged
ISSN
print
e-ISSN
online
DOI prefix
10.
From
the present owner
To
a buyer we have vetted

Recorded, on completion, with

  1. Crossref: title transfer, every DOI resolving as before
  2. The ISSN record: publisher of record updated
  3. Every index the journal is in: told in writing
  4. The journal’s own website: new owner named

Negotiated in confidence. Recorded in the open.

What stays

  • The journal’s title
  • Its ISSN
  • Every DOI, still resolving
  • The back issues

What changes

  • The owner
  • The publisher on the ISSN record
  • Who holds the DOIs at Crossref
  • The name on the website

A good transfer changes only what it must, and says so publicly.

The record

1,000+

journals transferred since 2022

That is the only figure we publish about our work. Which journals changed hands, who sold them and who bought them stays between the parties, out of respect for the owners, the buyers and the journals themselves.

Two sides

One sale, two sides

If you own a journal

Editors, learned societies, small publishers and universities sell for ordinary reasons: a retirement, a change of direction, too little money or time to run the journal well.

  • A confidential valuation
  • Introductions to vetted buyers only
  • Negotiation on your behalf
  • A managed, documented transfer

How selling works

If you want to acquire one

Publishers, societies and institutions come to us for journals that fit their list. We share an opportunity only after you have signed a non-disclosure agreement, and every journal is checked before you commit.

  • Curated opportunities, after an NDA
  • Due diligence on the journal
  • The agreement and the handover
  • Help after the transfer

How acquiring works

Contents

What we do

  1. Sell your journalFor owners
  2. Acquire a journalPublishers, societies, institutions
  3. Co-publishing leaseSocieties and universities
  4. Valuation and due diligenceBoth sides
  5. Succession planningSocieties, retiring editors, presses
  6. Managed transferTo NISO’s Transfer Code
  7. Licensing and subscriptionsInstitutions and libraries
  8. Post-transfer stewardshipNew owners
  9. Confidential listingsOn request
Order of work

Seven steps, always in this order

Nothing confidential is shared before a non-disclosure agreement is signed, and nothing is made public until the handover.

In confidence

  1. EnquiryYou tell us, in outline, what you want to do.
  2. NDASigned online before any detail is shared.
  3. MOU or term sheetThe main terms, in writing.
  4. Due diligenceWe check the journal and the buyer.
  5. Transfer agreementThe sale, and who does what.

In the open

  1. Managed handoverCrossref, ISSN, indexes, website.
  2. StewardshipSupport for the new owner.

The process in full

Charter

Some sales we refuse.

We do not arrange a sale to anyone who plans to sell publication slots or interfere with peer review. We keep editorial decisions with the editors, keep both parties’ names confidential, and publish no invented numbers. When a transfer is complete, the indexes, the ISSN centre and the journal’s readers are told.

Read the ethics charter

Begin

Begin in confidence

Tell us whether you want to sell, acquire or value a journal. You need not name the journal in your first message.

WhatsApp
+91 70366 99222Messages only. We do not take calls.
E-mail
acquisitions@incitee.com
Forms
Four ways to beginSell, lease, buy or value a journal.
Or
The general enquiry form
WhatsApp