Denmark-based Egmont has agreed to buy Bonnier’s half of their jointly-owned publishing house in Norway, Cappelen Damm, for NOK 1 billion ($120 million). The company was formed in 2007 by the merger of Egmont’s Damm and Bonnier’s Cappelen. Cappelen Damm had sales in 2020 of NOK 1.3 billion ($156 million), with pre-tax profit of NOK 91 million. Egmont Books had sales from its other primary unit, Lindhardt & Ringhof in Denmark, of 63 million euros in 2020 ($72 million), so full ownership of Cappelen Damm will add significantly to their size. Egmont sold Egmont Books UK along with their book […]
What’s In A Name?….
Simon & Schuster ceo Jonathan Karp said in his latest Word According to Karp video that John Bolton had a different title in mind for his book last summer: “The original title of the book, Ambassador Bolton wanted to call it A Hard Pounding, which was actually a quote from the Duke of Wellington after the Battle of Waterloo.” (Our copy-editing department notes the remark was made during the battle, while the Duke’s troops awaited the arrival of their Prussian allies, hence the full quote, “Hard pounding this, gentlemen, but we will see who can pound the longest.”) Karp adds, […]
We’re Running Out of Ways of Telling You Barnes & Noble Education Had A Bad Quarter
Covid was hard on Barnes & Noble Education, which had been struggling even in normal conditions. Sales for the fourth quarter ending May 1 were $223 million, down 13 percent from $257 million a year ago (which was an unusual 14-week quarter), already a low bar given the impact of Covid last year. Two years ago, a more normal fourth quarter had sales of $334 million. The operating loss was a big ($59) million, worse than ($52) million a year ago. For the full year, sales fell to just $1.434 billion — compared to $1.851 billion in the previous year. […]
AAP Stats Remained Strong In April
The AAP reported their monthly StatShot sales data for April. In line with other measures such as NPD Bookscan, trade sales remained robust for April, with big continuing gains. Total sales of $689 million were up 34 percent (or $174.5 million) from 514.5 million a year ago. Adult sales of $491 million accounted for most of the increase, up 41.5 percent versus $347 million in 2020, while children’s sales of $198 million were 18 percent higher than $167.5 million last year. eBook sales finally leveled off, at $86 million, down just over $1 million compared to 2020, while digital audio […]
Legal: Foundry Dispute Will Linger
Following a conference with Judge Joel M. Cohen earlier this week, the lawsuits between former Foundry partners Peter McGuigan and Yfat Reiss Gendell are scheduled for a lengthy process of litigation. Without ruling yet on any of the preliminary motions, the court set a discovery process that will end in late November, with motions for summary judgment due by January 3, 2022.
McGraw Hill Reports Q4
In advance of the closing of their pending sale of McGraw Hill to Platinum Equity, the company reported fourth quarter and full-year results. As of March 31, their total debt had a face value of $2.159 billion. They paid debt service of $227 million in the fiscal year, and ended the year with $354 million of cash. The risk factors section notes plainly, “We are a leveraged company that has substantial indebtedness.” Higher ed sales were $649 million in the year, and K-12 sales were $584 million. Like HMH, Pearson and other education companies, McGraw Hill touts its digital transformation […]