Swedish video game holding company Embracer Group plans to buy comic book publisher and entertainment company Dark Horse Media, in a deal that is expected to close next year. Dark Horse’s 300 intellectual properties include The Mask, Time Cop, Father’s Day, and Ghost and it licenses Star Wars, Avatar the Last Airbender, Stranger Things, Witcher, and more. It also owns a retail business called Things From Another World selling graphic novels, comic books, and collectibles. Eighty percent of the shares of Dark Horse will be acquired from a Chinese investor, and the remaining 20 percent are from founder and CEO Mike Richardson […]
M&A
Acquisitions: ABC-CLIO to Bloomsbury, Wuxiaworld to Radish
Bloomsbury has acquired academic publisher ABC-CLIO for $22.9 million (£17.3 million). ABC-CLIO will become part of Bloomsbury’s Academic and Professional division within Bloomsbury USA. In 2020, ABC-CLIO reported sales of $14.7 million (£11.5 million), and profit before tax of $1.2 million (£0.9 million). Outside of integration and acquisition costs, the company is expected to add £2.1 million in revenue and £0.3 million in profit before tax to Bloomsbury’s current fiscal year, which ends on February 28. “ABC-CLIO is a strong addition to Bloomsbury USA, our Academic and Professional division and Bloomsbury Digital Resources,” Bloomsbury ceo Nigel Newton said. “This acquisition […]
Once Again, RR Donnelly Agrees to Buyout By Atlas Holdings — and Then Receives A Higher Bid
After a bidding war that included increased offers from both Chatham Asset Management and an unidentified “strategic party,” on Thursday RR Donnelly said it has accepted a revised bid by Atlas Holdings at $10.35 a share (or $856 million in cash for the equity). The proposed deal will be sent to a shareholder vote — though the market indicated it expects still more action. After the close of the market yesterday, Chatham announced another higher offer of $10.85 a share, though the bid expires on December 13. While the board has seemed inclined to pair with Atlas since accepting an […]
Vivendi Moves Up Timetable and Will Launch Tender Offer to Acquire Lagardere
Though Vivendi was previously awaiting regulatory approval from the French government for their acquisition of Amber Capital’s 17.5 percent stake in Lagardere — originally expecting the deal to close by December 15 — the company has decided it does not need to wait any longer. “Recent analyses carried out by Vivendi have led the company to consider that this acquisition could take place now since, in accordance with applicable rules on the control of concentrations.” Vivendi says it will not exercise the voting rights attached to Amber shares “until the approvals required for the acquisition of the control of Lagardère […]
UTA Launches SPAC; SAGE to Be Controlled By Trust
Privately-owned talent agency UTA has entered public markets by launching a special purpose acquisition company. The IPO raised $230 million with a plan “targeting businesses in the gaming, digital media, creator economy, entertainment and technology industries.” That’s ahead of an initial plan to raise $200 million. It trades as UTAAU on Nasdaq. Former Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aime serves as chair. UTA’s Clinton Foy is co-CEO alongside Jamie Sharp, with UTA’s Ophir Lupu as president. Elsewhere in finance, founder and owner of academic publisher SAGE Sara Miller McCune has transferred her voting shares and control of the company to a trust, […]
Open Road Sold to Steinberger-Led Investor Group; Clarivate Completes ProQuest Buy
Founded in 2009 as a venture-capital backed ebook publisher and marketer, Open Road has been sold to an investor group led by former Arcadia Publishing and Perseus Book Group ceo David Steinberger, selling for “between $60 million and $80 million” according to the WSJ. Investors include private equity company Abry Partners, MEP Capital (which acquired Rosetta’s ebook catalog earlier this year), Grove Atlantic (which has worked with Open Road as a customer), and “a number of prominent individual investors from the worlds of publishing and finance” according to the press release. Paul Slavin, who took over as ceo in 2016 […]