Publisher Oxford University Press has bought the law publisher Blackstone Press for about £13m.

OUP chief executive Henry Reece said that the acquisition fitted with OUP's aim of "investing in publishing for the higher education market" and made it the UK's "leading educational publisher for law students".

He said: "The move is a major step forward in our ambitions to become a leading publisher of high-quality materials for the legal profession."

OUP acquired the 82.5 per cent stake held by BPP Holdings for £11m and the 17.5 per cent still held by two of Blackstone's founders.

BPP, which sold its Letts Publishing business in 1999, said that OUP was better placed to develop Blackstone's potential.

The deal values Blackstone, which had sales of £5m in 2000, at 2.6 times turnover.