Thomson Reuters announced Tuesday a deal to form a joint venture with private equity firm KKR, which will pay approximately $500 million for a 51 percent stake in Thomson’s Global Print business. That business comprises Thomson’s legal and tax information books, sold in print and through their ProView platform, as well as the company’s book printing division. Thomson Reuters will retain “full editorial control over its content portfolio.” The joint venture will “hold an exclusive license to distribute the content in print and on ProView, Global Print’s eBook platform.” Thomson Reuters stock has suffered this year, as investors fear AI […]
Publishers File Novel, Winnable AI Suit, Alleging Google Raided Google Books and Play Files to Train Gemini
After literally dozens of metoo infringement lawsuits against the AI titans in multiple jurisdictions, on Friday three publishers filed a suit against Google in the Southern District of New York that stands on new, undisputable legal ground if supported by the facts. They allege that Google “illegally copied works” from such “scope-limited programs” as Google Books, the Google Play ebookstore, and Google Scholar in order “to train early iterations of the Gemini [AI] Models.” That behavior would be clear copyright infringement, outside of any conceivable Fair Use defense or other grey area related to the transformative development of AI models. […]
KDP Raises Price Ceiling for 70 Percent Royalty Rate for the First Time
Amazon announced that for those using Kindle Direct Publishing, the 70 percent royalty has expanded from a top price of $9.99 up to $12.99, effective July 7, “with equivalent changes in other KDP marketplaces” around the world. That is the first increase in the price band since 2007. As the Authors Guild notes, “This move also brings Amazon closer in line with its competitors: Apple Books and Barnes & Noble Press pay a flat 70 percent at every price point, and Kobo pays 70 percent on any ebook priced at $2.99 or above.”
BNED to Pay A Dividend
Barnes & Noble Education announced final fiscal 2026 results on Thursday afternoon, in line with the advance estimates provided last month. After recording net income for the first time since fiscal 2017, earning $16.9 million for the year, BNED said it would pay an inaugural dividend of 8 cents per share to shareholders of record on July 16, 2026. For the full year, the company had sales of $1.715 billion. Same-store sales rose by $71.3 million, up 4.4 percent for the year. Adjusted EBITDA was $76.5 million, and total debt at year-end was $71 million. They opened 50 stores during […]
Second Quarter Dealmaking Is Mixed As Biggest Publishers Pull Back
First quarter dealmaking for 2026 sent some mixed signals and that story continued in the second quarter, albeit in different ways, but still suggesting that peak deal activity could be in the past. Second quarter deals declined modestly overall (-1.8 percent), due to a continuing drop in reports from digital publishers (exacerbated by our integration of mature digital publishers into the general categories at the beginning of this year). Deals in the core categories were up 2 percent (lifted by that same recategorization). Adult sales reached a five-year high for the period, powered by continuing growth in fiction, up 13.3 […]
TG Jones Restructuring Plan Expected to Win Approval This Week
The draconian restructuring plan to keep UK bookstore chain TG Jones (FKA WH Smith) operating is expected to win court approval after hearings Monday and Tuesday, as at least some creditor groups have agreed to accept owner Modella Capital’s terms. Unnamed sources have told the media (including the Telegraph, Bloomberg and the Guardian) that “a number of key creditor groups, landlords among them, have accepted TG Jones’ proposal before the court hearing.” Property development company British Land, after loudly objecting, “said it would…abstain from voting following what it described as material concessions from TG Jones to treat landlords more fairly.” […]