Ian Smith, the new chief executive of Reed Elsevier, left the door open to merger talks with Dutch rival Wolters Kluwer as he named Anthony Habgood as the Anglo-Dutch publishing group’s new chairman.

When asked to be specific about his plans regarding a long-mooted tie-up with Wolters Kluwer at the group’s AGM on Tuesday, Mr Smith did not rule out the possibility: “Well, it is too early to look outside of the company as our current priority is internal,” he said.