The parent company of Variety, Deadline and other trade magazines will take over management of competitor The Hollywood Reporter (as well as Billboard and other publications) as part of two joint ventures announced Wednesday. Penske Media (PMC) will run daily operations of the magazine conglomerate, while their one-time rival MRC will run a separate joint venture to exploit the brands and intellectual property across the two portfolios, “including television, film, live and alternative and nonfiction.” (Update: What was touted as a joint venture turned out to be an acquisition: Penske is reported to be paying $225 million to buy an […]
M&A
Corporate: Abrams Acquires Cameron, Bonnier UK Makes Flexible Work Permanent, and More
Abrams has acquired Cameron + Company, a family-owned publisher based in Petaluma, CA, publishing books with a focus on photography, art, food and wine, children’s books, and topics of regional interest. Abrams has distributed the line since early 2018. Cameron + Company will be a separate division under Abrams, with vice president and publisher Chris Gruener reporting to Abrams president and ceo Michael Jacobs. The current staff will remain based in their offices in Northern California. Separately, Hardie Grant has bought out Egmont, their joint venture partner in Hardie Grant Egmont, and will rename their children’s line Hardie Grant Children’s […]
Rabe Says Bertelsmann Is Interested In Bidding for Simon & Schuster
Bertelsmann ceo Thomas Rabe told the Financial Times, “We would, of course, be interested in Simon & Schuster.” He noted, “We’ve been the most active player on the consolidation of the book publishing market in the last 10 years.” Any potential purchase would be subject to review, and would add 30 percent or more to Penguin Random House’s US revenues and unit sales. But Rabe does not believe they would be blocked by the government: “We looked at this and we don’t think it is an issue. If you look at the market holistically, particularly the strength of Amazon, and […]
International: Hachette UK Acquires Laurence King, and More
Hachette UK has extended their string of modest acquisitions in purchasing Laurence King Publishing (best known for Johanna Basford’s coloring books). King himself, who recently turned 65, will leave after a six-month term as a consultant. Hachette UK has been the distributor for LKP. In 2018, the most recently reported year, LKP had sales of £16 million, with almost no profit. The gift, trade and art books will keep the LKP name as an imprint of Orion, run by Anna Valentine. Their student and professional books will become an imprint of Quercus and the children’s publishing will be part of […]
Barnes & Noble Education Is Finished Considering A Sale
After a lengthy investigation that started last December following “a number of unsolicited inquiries,” the Barnes & Noble Education board has once again found that it is doing a terrific job and has formally ended any consideration of a sale. “An exhaustive strategic review was undertaken and completed,” the release says. Fortunately, “At the same time, the company also made significant progress towards implementing and executing its digital transformation strategy, which further enhanced the company’s importance and relevance to its customers, particularly given the post-COVID-19 shift to remote learning.” Independent director Vice Admiral John R. Ryan says in the announcement, […]
Dufry to Take Hudson Group Private Again; Arnault Approves Investment In Lagardere’s Holding Company
Travel retail and bookstore chain Hudson announced a definitive agreement on Wednesday morning with controlling shareholder Dufry to buy out public shareholders and take the company private again, just two years after its 2018 IPO. Dufry AG Group, which already owns 57.4 percent of the company, will buy the remaining equity for $7.70 a share. That’s a 50 percent premium to Hudson’s August 18 closing price — but less than half the 2018 IPO share price of $19 on 39.4 million shares, which raised $749 million in proceeds. The travel retail business has suffered considerably during the pandemic, and so […]