Archives for January 2007

When Perseus Went to Court A court filing seeking approval for Perseus’s offer with respect to PGW clients  notes that AMS has accounts receivable of $147.5 million — and $72.5 million in inventory that they are now considering an asset. They also cite “valuable collateral including AMS’s interest in foreign subsidiaries, fixed assets and intellectual property.” Some quick math will tell you they own a lot less than they owe, particularly once the fire sale starts. Wells Fargo, for their part, collected $3.9 million in additional “forbearance fees” just for extending their credit line last summer and fall. The filing […]

AMS Updates The bankruptcy court rejected Simon & Schuster’s efforts to reclaim inventory shipped to AMS over the 45-day period prior to their bankruptcy filing. The judge reinforced that the secured creditors — e.g. the banks — have first claim on the inventory, the SD Union Tribune reports. There is a hearing set for January 31 on “Advanced Marketing’s proposal to establish procedures to sell all or part of the company or to find an investor willing to put up new capital or refinance its debt.” Separately, in reporting results for the quarter, Meredith takes a $3 million pre-tax charge […]

PGW Offer Formalized The deal we originally reported on January 12 for Perseus to take over the contracts of most PGW clients has now been formalized, pretty much following the terms we outlined at the time (including the lengthy transition period). Announced/confirmed today, the parties indicate: “The agreement will substantially reduce the claims against the PGW chapter 11 estate while providing the opportunity for PGW clients to continue to receive distribution services and payments they need to continue operating. AMS will file a motion with the bankruptcy court early this week outlining the proposed deal in more detail and seeking […]

FICTION Debut Laurie Viera Rigler’s CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT, a literary homage, comedy, and exploration of identity, destiny, and the nature of time, that tells the story of a contemporary thirty-something LA woman and Jane Austen fan who wakes up inside the body of an Englishwoman in Austen’s time, to Trena Keating at Dutton, in a significant deal, at auction, for two books, by Marly Rusoff of Marly Rusoff & Associates (NA). Bestselling author Nathan McCall’s fiction debut THEM, about gentrification in Atlanta, to Malaika Adero at Atria, in a significant deal, by Faith Childs at Faith Childs […]

As Expected, Ostrowski will Lead Bertelsmann Arvato division head Hartmut Ostrowski has been selected as the new chief executive of Bertelsmann, taking over at the end of the year from Gunther Thielen. Thielen will remain with the company as chairman of the company’s supervisory board. The FT notes, “the elevation of the two confidants of Ms Mohn has been an open secret in Gütersloh, Bertelsmann’s home town, as she has worked to increase her family’s influence and focus the print-to-TV group on its old strengths.” The appointment is seen as reinforcing a conservative strategy for the company. The FT quotes […]

Deal News Among the many new reports: Laurie Viera Rigler’s debut CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT; India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry on the country’s economic rise; Adam Langer’s memoir; Backspace founder Karen Dionne’s thriller; and still dozens more. At PublishersMarketplace.com, members can get complete access to deal news and deal searching all the time: live every day as reports come in; nightly in an optional e-mail; complete and organized in full round-ups every week; and searchable anytime in all kinds of powerful ways (members run about 1,500 deal searches daily), through a unique database tracking over 21,000 transactions […]