'The £25m bid by Leasco Data Processing for Pergamon Press makes considerable sense for a number of reasons', starts off an Electronics Weekly report in its issue of June 25th 1969.
'In the first place it will give Leasco access to Pergamon's vast list of scientific, technical and educational publications which will form the basis of Leasco's information bank.'
The story continues: 'This is almost the ideal marriage between education and computing, for while Pergamon can supply the basic material, Leasco can bring their considerable experience in computer software and computer typesetting into use in a wider field.'
'Another point of contact between Mr Maxwell and Leasco is that Mr Maxwell is one of the chief shareholders in Computer Technology Ltd, manufacturers of the Modular One range of computers', continues the story.
'Before the bid from Leasco was announced, it is believed that CT's managing director, Mr I. M. Barron, was involved in negotiations with Leasco, so it is possible that CT could sell Modular One to Leasco for use in message switching, line concentration or terminal operations in conjunction with much larger systems.'
Well, well well. Thereby hangs a tale or two.
The Pergamon-Leasco relationship soured and fell into litigation ending up with a government enquiry which concluded, in 1971, that Mr Maxwell, later better known was Captain Robert Maxwell or Cap'n Bob, was not "a person who can be relied on to exercise proper stewardship of a publicly quoted company".
Notwithstanding, Cap'n Bob went on to buy the Daily Mirror, raid its pension fund, create one of the most spectacular corporate collapses in business history, and disappear from his yacht off the Canary Islands.
And how about the Mr I. M Barron mentioned in the story above as Computer Technology's managing director? Well Mr Barron, better known as Iann Barron, went on to become one of the three co-founders of Inmos.
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