Citing “people familiar with the situation,” the WSJ reported late last week that Apax Partners (which owns a majority stake in Cengage) and Apollo Global Management are “leading contenders” to buy McGraw-Hill Education, both having done “serious due diligence” on the division. Bids on the ongoing auction were due last Thursday though “after McGraw-Hill decides on a preferred bidder, the two sides will have to reach agreement.” That’s all a polite way of confirming that there are only two bidders still interested in the unit, and the offering prices are likely still below what McGraw-Hill said they were looking for. The […]
eNews
eNews: Kindle Japan Store Opens on October 25, with Paperwhite and Fire Devices Set to Ship on November 19
Amazon is finally opening its Japan Kindle store on October 25, which includes more than 50,000 Japanese-language Kindle books from publishers such as Bungeishunju, Gentosha, Kadokawa, Kodansha, Shinchosha, Shogakukan and Shueisha, and includes 15,000 manga titles within that total. The Japanese Kindle store outpost will also sell the Kindle Paperwhite Wi-Fi and 3G for ¥8,480 ($106.31) and ¥12,980 ($162.72), and the Kindle Fire and Fire HD for ¥12,800 ($160.50) and ¥15,800 (USD $198), respectively. The Paperwhite devices will ship from Amazon.co.jp starting November 19 while the Fire devices will be available a month later, on December 19. Retailers K’s Holdings, […]
iPad Mini Starts At $329
As expected, Apple unveiled the new iPad Mini at their event in San Francisco on Tuesday morning. With a 7.9-inch screen, they claim it offers significantly more live display area than competitors like Google’s Nexus 7. Apple will start taking pre-orders on Friday, October 26 and will start shipping wifi models–which start at $329–next week and cellular models two weeks later. Though some erroneous rumors indicated the mini would be significantly stripped down in features, models start at 16GB of memory and it includes a 5MP camera, and the option of full LTE wireless connections. The iPad Mini weighs 0.68 […]
eNews: iBooks Expected to Add Countries; CoreSource Adds Retailers; Pew Data Should Be Viewed Carefully; and More
With confirmation expected to this afternoon’s Apple presentation (which starts at 1:00 Eastern), there are reports on various blogs and websites that 18 more countries are listed as “pending” to sell iBooks–including New Zealand, Brazil, and Mexico, along with 16 other countries in Latin America, South America. After 10 months of posturing, French newspapers Les Echos reports that the European Commission has issued a stern warning to France over their lowered 7 percent VAT on ebooks. If the rate isn’t lifted in a month, the EC might go to the European Court of Justice. As the Bookseller points out, the […]
eNews: Guardian Highlights Harsh Amazon UK Kindle Contracts; Bertrams Partners on Online Bookseller Wordery; and More
The Guardian reports on a UK Amazon contract they have seen that seeks to account for 20 percent VAT before calculating the publisher’s share of digital list price–even though Amazon sells ebooks via their Luxembourg subsidiary and only pays 3 percent VAT at the moment. (That said, by 2015 EU law will change and the loophole will be closed–VAT will be applied based on where the purchaser resides, rather than the country pretending to sell the goods.) Former IT director of the Book Depository Will Jones is launching another independent online bookseller, Wordery, with titles supplied by Bertrams. The platform […]
International: Bertelsmann Drops Gruner + Jahr Buyout Plan; UK Kindle Lending; Casual Vacancy Passes A Million
Gruner + Jahr said in a statement Friday that, contrary to earlier indications from August, Bertelsmann will not buy up the remaining 25.1 percent in the company not already under its control. “In our intensive and constructive talks with Bertelsmann, we came to the conclusion that the challenges ahead for G&J can best be mastered together,” Jahr managing director Winfried Steeger, managing director of Jahr Holding said in the statement obtained by Bloomberg. Bertelsmann ceo Thomas Rabe added: “Bertelsmann will continue its more than 40 year long, successful relationship with the Jahr family. We are in a strong position to […]