In Diamond Comic Distributors’ bankruptcy filing, Penguin Random House is listed as their largest creditor, owed $9.2 million. Among other publishing companies, Disney Consumer Products is owed $1.7 million; Simon & Schuster $600,000; VIZ Media $421,000; and Titan Publishing $357,000. Restructuring firm Getzler Henrich & Associates is a “financial advisor” in the bankruptcy and managing director Robert Gorin is co-chief restructuring officer of the company now according to the filing. Raymond James & Associates is the investment banker advising on the sale of the business units.
Finance
Diamond Comic Distributors Files For Bankruptcy
Diamond Comic Distributors filed a voluntary petition for bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland, “to facilitate the restructuring of its business.” Universal Distribution has made a $39 million stalking horse bid for the Alliance Game Distributors unit. The company writes in a press release that they have received $41 million in debtor-in-possession financing from JP Morgan Chase to “fund post-petition operating expenses and ensure adequate working capital to meet its obligations to associates and suppliers.” Universal has also entered a Letter of Intent to buy Diamond UK. In what appears to be an organized […]
Harper Holland Acquires Altamira, Becht, Dominicus, and Hollandia
Harper Holland has acquired lifestyle imprints Altamira, Becht, Dominicus, and Hollandia from Gottmer Uitgevers Groep, effective March 1, 2025. Associated staff will stay on at the imprints. Jan-Joris Keijzer, managing director, HarperCollins Holland says in a release, “The lifestyle imprints Altamira, Becht, Dominicus, and Hollandia have an impressive publishing history, exceptional authors, and great books and have become strong brands in their own right, trusted by generations of readers. We are proud to welcome these brands and their fantastic supporting team members under the umbrella of the HarperCollins publishing group and look forward to shaping the future of the publishing house […]
The Continuing Rise of Bloom Books
The NYT celebrates the continuing success of Sourcebooks’ Bloom Books imprint. In 2023 Bloom had already grown to sales of more than $100 million less than three years after its founding, and sales for 2024 are up another 58 percent. “In an era when TikTok can catapult authors to success overnight, Bloom has developed a lucrative formula: courting self-published authors who have a built-in fan base, taking over their print distribution, building up their brand and market share and turning them into mainstream best sellers. That model has propelled the careers of novelists who now rank among the genre’s most […]
2024: The Year In Mergers
It was a pretty odd and modest year in mergers and acquisitions if we are being honest. Not only were there no blockbuster deals, there were very few acquisitions of any significant scale at all. There was a cluster of distress sales, however: Australian retailer was bought out of bankruptcy reorganization, as was Tattered Cover in Colorado. Barnes & Noble Education avoided delisting of its stock through a complicated refinancing that left Immersion Corporation in control. Canadian retailer Indigo went private in order to reorganize and recover, and Endeavor went private again after only a few years as a public […]
Acquisitions: Soaring Kite Books
Lerner Publishing Group has acquired children’s publisher Soaring Kite Books, effective January 1. Soaring Kite will continue to operate under its current name, with founder Ceece Kelley remaining involved as a consultant. Adam Lerner, ceo and publisher of Lerner Publishing Group, said in a release, “Lerner has had the privilege of distributing Soaring Kite Books since their inaugural publishing season in 2021, and over the past few years, we’ve seen firsthand the tremendous impact their titles have had on young readers and educators alike. This successful partnership has paved the way for Soaring Kite to become a Lerner imprint. We […]