UK-based Canelo has acquired Hera Books and will operate it as a subsidiary. Canelo previously provided publishing support and services to Hera. As a result, co-founder and managing director Lindsey Mooney will leave Hera. Canelo md Iain Millar will become Hera’s md, and Keshini Naidoo will stay on as publishing director. In a release, Millar said, “We were thrilled to work with this fantastic team as it launched and then took off. This next phase should mean both Hera and Canelo have even more impact.” Keshini Naidoo noted, “Building Hera alongside one of my oldest friends has been one of […]
M&A
Arcadia Acquires Commonwealth
Local history book publisher Arcadia Publishing has acquired Commonwealth Editions from Applewood Books; the terms of the deal were undisclosed. Applewood will continue to handle sales and distribution for Commonwealth titles “for the foreseeable future.”
Hello Sunshine Announces Big Sale
Reese Witherspoon’s production company Hello Sunshine will be purchased by a new firm financed by private-equity company Blackstone. The terms of the deal weren’t announced, but a source told the WSJ the deal values Hello Sunshine at $900 million, with Blackstone spending over $500 million to buy out Hello Sunshine’s outside investors, including AT&T and Emerson Collective. Witherspoon and some the company’s executives and investors “will roll over the remaining equity into ownership stakes in the new company Blackstone is forming.” Former Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs will run the new entertainment company that is purchasing Hello Sunshine, […]
Another Possible Sale or IPO Based On Your Content
It’s been a heady year for M&A among internet platforms that feature written and book-length content, including sales of Wattpad (to Naver, for about $600 million); VitalSource (to Francisco Partners); NetGalley and Quality Solutions/Firebrand (to Media Do International); Glose (to Medium); Radish (to Kakao Entertainment for $440 million); Tapas Media (to Kakao Entertainment for $510 million); and Epic (to Byju for $500 million) — as well as the giant sale of ProQuest to Clarivate for $5.3 billion. Another possible deal looms for document host and subscription service Scribd, as reported by Bloomberg recently. They note: “The company has held talks […]
Acquisitions: Open Road Buys eBook Publisher, Wonderbly Sold
Open Road has acquired UK ebook publisher Bloodhound Books, for an undisclosed amount. The Bloodhound brand “will be retained in all markets” with founders Betsy Reavley and Fred Freeman staying on. In a release, Reavley said, “The market and consumer behaviour have both changed dramatically in the past year…. We needed to find a way to expand the business from our audience reach to our marketing capabilities. We are extremely excited about joining the OR/M team, which will give us the opportunity to do just this – to provide the very best in content from our authors to a wide […]
Epic Sold to India’s Byju for $500 Million; McEvoy Sells I See Me
Digital reading platform for kids Epic has been sold to India’s most valuable startup Byju for $500 million in cash and stock. (TechCrunch first reported the two parties in sale talks in March.) Epic says its user base includes 2 million teachers and 50 million students, and was fueled by at least $51 million in venture capital. Byju founder and ceo Byju Raveendran suggests that Epic’s revenues are appoximately $100 million this year. Presumably the platform’s continued growth will be good for the publishers that license their content to the subscription service. Reportedly Epic soon expand to India and other […]