Carolina Wren Press is acquiring the titles of John F. Blair, Publisher, and will relaunch the combined list in January publishing under the name Blair, distributed by Consortium. (John Blair has been winding down its own distribution arm this summer.) The Durham, NC-based nonprofit will officially change its name to Blair after the acquisition is completed….
Finance
Canongate Acquires Severn House, and More
Canongate announced that it has purchased Severn House, for an undisclosed sum from Edwin Buckhalter and his family. Buckhalter, who founded the publisher in 1974, and Mandy Shaw will serve as consultants going forward. Kate Lyall Grant remains as publisher and the staff will relocate to Canongate’s west London offices. The deal was financed in part by…
Corporate: Pearson Sells Training/Test Prep Division to Chinese Company, and More
As planned, Pearson has sold their Global Education business — which provides English language training and test preparation for Chinese students preparing to study abroad — to privately-owned Chinese company Puxin Education. Pearson says the sale is expected to generate proceeds “in the region of $80 million.” The business has sales of £78 million and an adjusted…
People, Etc.
Vice president and publisher of WaterBrook and Multnomah Alex Field is leaving the company in September to start an author-consulting business. Crown has begun searching for his successor. Publisher for Christian Publishing Tina Constable writes, “He has been a true partner in helping me position WaterBrook and Multnomah for the future…. Alex is a man of deep…
Amazon: Bonds, Bombast, and Life Offline
Today’s Amazon news spans a wide gamut. Yesterday, the company quickly completed their largest debt offering ever, raising $16 billion in seven tranches — ranging from three-year to 40-year notes — with “strong demand” from investors rewarding the company. They are reported to have paid approximately 90 basis points (o.9%) above what the US government…
Quarto Ends Talks With Potential Buyer
Quarto has quickly terminated the negotiations with a potential acquirer that were initiated five weeks ago, and announced on August 8 when they reported results for the first half of the year. The issue was not price — the company continues to say that was “attractive and reflective of the inherent value of the business” — but…