As expected, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books & Media will be acquired by News Corp for $349 million in cash and operated as part of HarperCollins. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter, “subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.” The announcement indicates that HarperCollins “expects to realize immediate cost savings, accumulating to more than $20 million annually within two years, including manufacturing, distribution and other cost efficiencies. HarperCollins also anticipates revenue synergies by leveraging its global scale and further expanding licensing opportunities.” HMH Books & Media had sales of $192 million in 2020, with net income of […]
M&A
Penguin Random House’s Deal to Buy S&S Faces Increased Scrutiny In Both US and UK
Penguin Random House’s pending $2.175 billion deal to acquire Simon & Schuster drew headlines Monday following an announcement from the UK’s Competition & Markets Authority that it launched a merger inquiry last Friday. Of potentially greater significance, however, and reported here exclusively, is that the acquisition is now facing a more detailed level of scrutiny from regulators in the US. Within the last week or so, employees report, the Department of Justice extended its review with a “second request” for more detailed information. Second requests require a far more extensive, and expensive, production of documents and information from the deal […]
People, Etc.
Ruth Dickey will join the National Book Foundation as executive director on May 17. She has served as executive director of Seattle Arts & Lectures since 2013. Former lead Lisa Lucas, who serves on the NBF board now, says in the announcement, “Ruth Dickey’s extraordinary skill set—developed over many years as an exceptional, thoughtful, and dynamic leader in the nonprofit literary space—is precisely what the National Book Foundation needs to charge forward,. Her experiences working across the country help to remind us all that this work is for everyone, everywhere.” David Steinberger, chair of the National Book Foundation’s board of […]
Firebrand and NetGalley Sold to Japan’s Media Do
Quality Solutions/Firebrand Technologies and NetGalley have been sold to Media Do International, the US-based subsidiary of Japanese ebook distribution company Media Do Ltd. Founder and ceo Fran Toolan will remain on as CEO for a minimum of three years. Media Do has been NetGalley’s reseller partner in Japan since it launched there in 2016. Media Do International ceo Daihei Shiohama says in the announcement, “We are very pleased to bring Firebrand and NetGalley into the Media Do family. We have long respected the works of the Firebrand Group, and are very excited about the prospects of working closely with them […]
People, Etc.
Elle Keck has been promoted to editor for William Morrow/Avon. Ali Herring has been promoted to literary agent at Spencerhill Associates. Dick Duane, co-owner of Pinder Lane & Garon-Brooke Agency, died January 28 of colon cancer. Acquisitions Prospect Park Books sold their assets, including 100 backlist titles and 11 forthcoming ones, to Turner Publishing. (The former was distributed by Ingram’s Consortium; the latter uses Ingram Publisher Services.) Founder Colleen Dunn Bates said, “Those of you who know me know how much effort I put into linking us all, and I’ve so valued every minute of it. But I’ve also worked my […]
Authors Guild and Others Urge DOJ to Reject S&S Merge with PRH
The Authors Guild, the Open Markets Institute, and a number of writers associations have co-signed a letter urging the Department of Justice to reject the plan to merge Simon & Schuster into Penguin Random House. “The deal would bring well more than half of key U.S. book markets under the control of a single corporation, which poses a variety of potential threats to freedom of speech and democracy in the United States. The takeover falls clearly within the standard of illegality set by the Clayton Act and should be summarily rejected,” argues the letter, later offering “five arguments that easily […]