Both sides have now traded filings in the Foundry Media legal dispute — making clear that Yfat Reiss Gendell and Peter McGuigan have both agreed to the appointment of a temporary receiver over the agency’s, but each party wants the receiver to serve its particular agenda. Gendell wants a receiver authorized to sell Foundry’s assets, and asked the court to send the dispute to mediation. In a new filing, McGuigan states that he expects a receiver “would likely not have any other choice but to sue for, and collect any assets, claims or debts of Foundry,” including the collection of […]
Klobuchar Tells AAP of “Serious Concerns About Consolidation in the Publishing Industry”
Wednesday’s virtual AAP annual meeting offered some more pointed remarks than usual, as the publishing industry finds itself performing well financially, while facing a variety of new challenges from government, big tech, idealists and even itself. Most notably, Senator Amy Klobuchar, accepting the organization’s Award for Distinguished Public Service in a taped message, made clear that her focus on “taking on monopoly power” is not limited to big tech alone. “As you all know, there are serious concerns about consolidation in the publishing industry, due to a series of mergers and acquisitions that combine major publishing houses,” she said. “This […]
Desmond Elliott Prize Shortlist
Bloomsbury Acquires Head of Zeus for £8.45 Million, As Sales Rose 14 Percent for the Year
Bloomsbury announced the acquisition of Head of Zeus, founded nine years ago by Anthony Cheetham, for £8.45 million. They paid £5.5 million in cash, with another £1.1 million payable post completion, “subject to working capital and other considerations,” and up to £0.75 million in deferred, contingent consideration. They also paid off loans of £1.1 million. In 2020, Head of Zeus had sales of £8.6 million and profit before tax of £0.3 million. Head of Zeus will operate as an independent imprint in Bloomsbury’s consumer division. Bloomsbury ceo Nigel Newton says in the announcement, “Bloomsbury will be able to provide the […]
ABA Sees Significant Drop In Member Stores, Presses “The Mantle of 10 More Points”
The American Booksellers Association held their annual meeting and town hall virtually on Thursday. Incoming president Bradley Graham at Politics & Prose presented membership data that revealed the significant toll the pandemic (and potentially other factors) has had on the sector. “At the latest count, the ABA has 1,700 member companies and 2,100 locations,” Graham reported. A year ago the organization did not report membership data because of the pandemic, so the most recent comparison is from two years ago, when the numbers peaked at 1,887 members, operating 2,524 locations. Graham said the ABA “lost 80 members unfortunately due to […]
AAP Trade Publishers Were Up 35 Percent in March
The AAP released its Stat Shot statistics for March, showing a continuation of the very strong sales recorded at the start of the year. (More current measures, such as NPD Bookscan’s weekly statistics, show the big early gains moderating somewhat starting in mid April). Helped in part by an early Easter, overall trade sales were $685.5 million, up a big 35 percent (or $176 million) from $509.4 million in March 2020. That’s the level of total sales the trade more typically sees in September, when stores are loading up for the busy fall sales season. eBook sales of $84 million […]