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 […]
M&A
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 […]
People, Etc.
Danya Kukafka will join Aevitas Creative Management as an agent, representing select projects alongside Michelle Brower. Previously, she was an assistant editor at Riverhead. Loan Le has been promoted to editor at Atria, reporting to Lindsay Sagnette. Allison Lewis has joined Sourcebooks as marketing specialist. At Bonnier Books UK Helen Wicks has been promoted to executive director for children’s trade and Elise Burns to group sales, marketing and PR director. Historian and author Bernard Bailyn, 97, “whose award-winning books on early American history reshaped the study of the origins of the American Revolution,” died on Friday. Best known for The […]
People, Etc.
Pronoy Sarkar has been promoted to editor at St. Martin’s Publishing Group. Allison Sundstrom has been promoted to associate art director, children’s at Sourcebooks. Nicole Lyons has been promoted to manager of operations at Wayside Publishing. Events The ALA has announced that its 2021 Midwinter Meeting, scheduled for January 22-26 in Indianapolis, will take place virtually due to COVID-19. ALA president Julius C. Jefferson, Jr. said in the release, “In the last few months, we have successfully pivoted our delivery to present the Virtual Event in June and ALA’s Holding Space tour series this summer. Though we very much hoped […]