Hachette Livre has entered an agreement with shareholders to acquire a majority stake in independent French board game company La Boîte de Jeu. The company will lend its expertise in crowdfunding new projects through Kickstarter to the Hachette Boardgames division. Benoit Bannier “will remain at the helm” and Hachette Boardgames ceo Isabelle Jeuge-Maynart will become La Boîte de Jeu’s chairman. The sale is expected to be completed by the end of the month, subject to customary conditions precedent.
NAACP Image Awards
The NAACP Image Awards announced winners in 8 literary categories.
People 2/23
Janine Le launched Janine Le Literary Agency. She was most recently agent and foreign rights manager at Sheldon Fogelman Agency.
Vivendi Increases Lagardere Takeover Offer
As expected, Vivendi filed its official tender offer for the remaining shares of Lagardere on Monday with the French competition authority (Autorité des marchés financiers) for approval. The offer includes a new enticement to accelerate the completion of the deal: For Lagardere shareholders who elect to sell their stock immediately, through May 20, Vivendi will pay €25.50 a share, an increase of €1.40 a share over what they paid Amber Capital in December and are required to offer others. (The increased offer bundles in the proposed €.50 a share dividend that awaits approval at the company’s annual meeting, so effectively […]
New Books Publishing February 22
Ben Mezrich, Roddy Doyle and Quan Barry lead this week’s fiction releases, while nonfiction includes new work from Sarah Weinman, Stacey Abrams and Lara Hodgson. 14 new works of fiction https://bookshop.org/lists/new-fiction-publishing-february-22 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Fiction_Publishing_February_/222258 11 new nonfiction titles https://bookshop.org/lists/new-nonfiction-publishing-february-22 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Nonfiction_Publishing_February_/222259 We consult a number of sources in compiling our weekly lists and PM members can see our lists for the coming three months through this reference page. But if you want to make sure your key titles are on our radar, now you can use this form to submit brief details as well: publun.ch/submitNotable. Please submit your notable titles at least 3 months prior to pub date.
Storytel CEO Steps Down; Company Expects Growth of 30 Percent or More in 2022
Swedish ebook streaming service and publisher Storytel issued their formal 2021 annual report. But the bigger parallel news was the announcement that founder Jonas Tellander is stepping down as ceo, effective immediately, while remaining on the board. Ingrid Bojner takes over as interim ceo as the board searches for a permanent successor. “It’s time for new leadership at Storytel, 17 years of full focus on Storytel has taken its toll. The team is now stronger than ever and will, under Ingrid’s leadership, take big steps this year,” Tellander said. “Personally, after a little time off, I look forward to continuing to […]