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Pearson Sells Money-Losing Online Learning Business for Future Consideration

March 21, 2023
By Michael Cader

Pearson announced an agreement to sell their international online program management business, Pearson Online Learning Services (POLS), to private equity firm Regent. There is no cash payment; Pearson will receive a portion of the business’s positive adjusted EBITDA over the next six years. The business, which had been pending sale under “strategic review,” lost £26 million pounds ($32 million) on an adjusted operating basis in 2022, on sales of £155 million. (Overall, the business lost £52 million, including restructuring, intangible and finance charges.)

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Lagardere Board Approves Radio Spinoff

March 15, 2023
By Michael Cader

As Lagardere and Vivendi both take steps to ease the path towards approval of their pending merger by the European Commission, Lagardere’s board has approved a plan floated earlier to preserve the independence of their radio division. The company intends to spin the radio division (comprising Europe 1, Europe 2 and RFM) into a separate, limited-partnership holding company. Arnaud Lagardère would be “indirectly the general partner and personally the managing partner,” and he “would be solely responsible for supervising the managers and teams of the radio division and would be the ultimate decision-maker on editorial policy.” There had been longstanding […]

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New Strategy: Vivendi Will Sell Editis Outright

March 14, 2023
By Michael Cader

Vivendi announced it is abandoning its plan to spin off publishing company Editis into an independent, publicly traded company, and instead they are negotiating to sell the division outright. Vivendi “received several offers for the sale of 100 percent of the shares of Editis,” and has “decided to enter into exclusive negotiations” with International Media Invest (IMI), a subsidiary of billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s Czech Media Invest (which owns a number of prominent French magazines). Kretinsky’s portfolio also includes stakes in the newspaper Le Monde and the TV group TF1. The sale of Editis is designed to win approval from regulators […]

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On Schedule, Paramount Restarts Sales Process for Simon & Schuster

February 14, 2023
By Michael Cader

“Sources” confirm to Reuters that Paramount Global has begun shopping Simon & Schuster again through a financial adviser. Liontree advised the company on the sale to Penguin Random House that was blocked by the court. As expected, those sources also suggest the company is focusing on the clear, uncomplicated path to successful sale this time: “Paramount will court private equity firms as potential buyers of Simon & Schuster because they do not compete with it and would not raise competition concerns with U.S. regulators that led to the demise of the Penguin deal last year, the sources added.” Of course […]

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Audio: Obamas to Audible; Playaway to PRH

February 1, 2023
By Katy Hershberger

Audible will release taped conversations from Michelle Obama’s THE LIGHT WE CARRY tour as an eight-episode podcast. Michelle Obama: The Light Podcast will air weekly, starting on March 7, and available exclusively on Audible for two weeks before opening up to other streaming platforms. This marks the first release after the Obamas’ Higher Ground productions moved from Spotify to Audible last year. A press release notes that it is an “exclusive, worldwide, multi-project, multi-year first-look production deal between Audible and Higher Ground.” “After the remarkable reception to The Michelle Obama Podcast [produced by Spotify], we’re excited to bring listeners more […]

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UTA Acquires Fletcher & Company

January 4, 2023
By Michael Cader

UTA announced that it has acquired literary agency Fletcher & Company. Founder and ceo Christy Fletcher will co-lead the UTA Publishing division along with current head Byrd Leavell, with both reporting to UTA President David Kramer. (Fletcher and Leavell had been colleagues at Carlisle and Company many years ago.) The entire team at Fletcher & Company will join UTA, in the agency’s New York office, and the Fletcher name will be retired. The acquisition builds on UTA’s purchase of Curtis Brown UK in 2022, and continues to expand the scope of their publishing division. UTA president David Kramer says in […]

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