Paperwork filed with the bankruptcy court overseeing the sale of F+W Media’s assets shows that Penguin Random House won the F+W Books list with a modest bid. They are paying $3 million at closing, with subsequent payments due equal to 70 percent of recent accounts receivable, plus 15 percent of the value of the printed…
M&A
Sourcebooks Sells Minority Share to Penguin Random House
Sourcebooks has sold a 45-percent stake in the company to Penguin Random House, which will serve as “a collaborative investor” in the company. Sourcebooks founder and ceo Dominique Raccah will work directly with PRH US ceo Madeline McIntosh on the collaboration, with McIntosh and PRH’s Nina von Moltke to fill two of the five seats…
Wiley to Buy Knewton
Just days after the Cengage and McGraw-Hill merger announcement, Wiley announced a deal to buy the assets of ed-tech firm Knewton, in a transaction expected to close by the end of the month. The price was not disclosed — though Knewton was reportedly being offered at a “fire sale” price, with EdSurge saying, “There were…
Acquisitions: PRH Buys Salamandra, Scholastic’s Film Investment, and More
Already the world’s largest Spanish-language publisher, Penguin Random House continues to build on that position with another acquisition, agreeing to acquire Barcelona-based Ediciones Salamandra from Sigrid Kraus and Pedro del Carril. The company has over 500 authors on their list. Kraus will remain as publishing manager, “working closely” with PRH Grupo Editorial ceo Núria Cabutí….
McGraw-Hill Education and Cengage Plan to Merge
As the educational publishing market continues to contract, two of the biggest players — McGraw-Hill Education and Cengage Learning — announced plans today for an all-stock cashless merger that would create the second largest provider of textbooks and higher education learning materials in the United States. With the deal expected to close “by early 2020,”…
People, Etc.
Joe Davidson is joining Black Dog & Leventhal as editor, starting April 8. Previously he was an editor at Rizzoli. Acquisitions Charleston, SC-based Arcadia Publishing has an agreement to acquire “the significant majority of [the] assets” of New Orleans-based Pelican Publishing, which has a list of over 2,000 titles. The transaction will close in May….