After reporting last month that HMH was exploring a sale, Bloomberg now reports that private equity firm Veritas Capital is bidding to take the education publisher private. “A final decision hasn’t been made and other bidders may emerge for the Boston-based company,” the sources are said to have indicated. Veritas bought Cambium Learning Group in 2018 for $900 plus the assumption of debt (and in 2021 refinanced the debt with $2.15 billion from Blackstone).
M&A
Draft2Digital to Buy Smashwords; Media Do Acquires Supadu
Draft2Digital will purchase Smashwords, combining the two self-publishing platforms under the Draft2Digital name., and the deal is expected to close March 1. According to a release, both companies are profitable and debt-free. Draft2Digital ceo and co-founder Kris Austin will be ceo of the combined company. Smashwords founder and former ceo Mark Coker will join the board and management team as chief strategy officer. Headquarters will be in Oklahoma City, where Draft2Digital is currently located, and all employees of the two companies “are expected to join the combination.” Together, the combined company will manage more than 800,000 titles from more than […]
Lakeside To Buy Phoenix Color
Lakeside Book Company will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock of specialty printer Phoenix Color Corp. from ALJ Regional Holdings. Subject to regulatory and stockholder approval, the deal is expected to go through in the second quarter of 2022. Phoenix has plants in Maryland and Indiana, manufacturing book components, children’s books, and other print products. “The combination of Phoenix’s component production capabilities and Lakeside’s book manufacturing services would provide customers the benefits of streamlined order processing, scheduling and speed of delivery,” Phoenix chair and ceo Marc Reisch said in a release. “We know Phoenix well as […]
Waterstones Reportedly In Talks to Acquire Blackwell’s
Waterstones is in discussions to purchase Blackwell’s, Sky News reports. The 18-store UK chain confirmed it is in a period of exclusivity with an unnamed purchaser to negotiate a deal. Waterstones is said to be pursuing the acquisition on a solvent basis, and it is expected that such a deal would require regulatory approval. The Blackwell family has owned the operation since its founding in 1879.
Follett Sold to Private Investors
College bookstore operator Follett Higher Education (and parent corporate entity Follett Corporation) has been sold to a group of private investors led by Jefferson River Capital, a private investment firm that is the family office of Tony James, recently retired executive vice chairman of Blackstone. Terms of the deal were not announced. Just as reported last August, the entirety of Follett has now been sold, with Morgan Stanley as financial advisor. In September 2021, Follett School Solutions was sold to Francisco Partners. The company said they would close the Follett Book Fairs, which were recently sold to Literati instead. Then in November, […]
Donnelly Says Mystery Bidder Withdrew Bid; Admits Ransomware Attack
The drawn out battle to buy RR Donnelly appears to be over, as the company announced that the unidentified “strategic party” has withdrawn its higher bid of $11.50 a share. That leaves the company headed for shareholder approval of the $10.85 a share deal from Chatham Asset Management. The strategic party “did not provide specific reasons for its withdrawal.” Separately, the company noted in two recent SEC filings that its computer systems had been attacked. The first “intrusion” was disclosed December 27, when they shut down their servers and systems and began a forensic investigation. The update on January 18 […]