A full announcement is due shortly, but an Ashland, OH newspaper has reported that Baker & Taylor is intensifying their competition with rival Ingram by merging with the family-owned Bookmasters. Private equity firm Castle Harlan, which owns Baker & Taylor, has made the purchase and will merge B&T with Bookmasters. The paper says Bookmasters’ 200 employees were told of the news in a company meeting last week. The acquisition provides Baker & Taylor with some of the same printing and publisher-distribution services that Ingram has aggressively added to in recent years, along with ebook distribution services and other “integrated publishing […]