Pearson has finished the long-running sale of most of their K-12 education businesses around the world, with a deal to sell the South African units to Novus Holding. The total price is £53 million, and Pearson has a 75 percent share of the company. Pearson decided to retain their K-12 education businesses in Australia and […]
M&A
Vivendi Is Ready to Spin-off Editis to Win Approval for Lagardere Acquisition
While reporting earnings on Thursday, Vivendi disclosed that it is prepared to spin off the Editis publishing group into its own separate, publicly-traded company in order to win approval from EU and French regulators to acquire Lagardere as a whole. The company said, “To avoid any potential antitrust problems due to its combination with Lagardère […]
Astra Acquires DAW
Astra Publishing House has acquired sci-fi/fantasy publisher DAW Books from owners and co-publishers Betsy Wollheim and Sheila Gilbert. According to a release, Astra will take on the entire staff of DAW. The publisher has issued over 2,000 titles since its founding more than 50 years ago in 1971. “We’re so excited to have DAW join […]
Acquisitions: RBMedia Acquires Upfront Books
RBMedia announced the acquisition of audiobook publisher Upfront Books, founded in 2019 by Tyler Finkelstein. The company works with publishers, self-published authors, and literary estates. RBmedia CEO Tom MacIsaac said in the release, “We’re impressed with the quality of the business and catalog that Tyler and his team have built in just a few years. This acquisition […]
CAA Closes Acquisition of ICM
Following an extended delay awaiting government review, CAA has completed their acquisition of ICM, first announced in September 2021. The deal is reported as valuing ICM at $750 million. (When ICM sold a minority one-third share in the agency to Crestview Partners in 2019, the price was reportedly approximately $150 million.) In the original announcement, […]
Acquisitions: Spectrum Publishing Buys Odd Portal Studios
Spectrum Publishing has acquired sci-fi and fantasy publisher Odd Portal Studios. Spectrum owner Kelly Rinne said, “Everyone here at Spectrum is excited about this acquisition. We have a solid foundation of science fiction and fantasy titles, and I look forward to expanding our roster of talented authors and narrators in these genres.”