Indigo’s largest stakeholder has made a bid to buy out the remaining shares of the company and take it private, the Canadian Press reports. Trilogy Retail Holdings and Trilogy Investments own 56 percent of the company and would acquire the rest of the shares at $2.25 in cash per common share. At the time of the announcement, the stock price was $1.50. On Monday, it closed at $2.15. Both Trinity companies are personal holding companies owned by Gerald Schwartz, who is married to Indigo CEO Heather Reisman. Schwartz is on Indigo’s board.
Finance
Vivendi Proposes Splitting Up Its Companies
Vivendi has proposed splitting its divisions into separate companies, each of which will be listed on the stock market, the company announced this week. “Since the distribution and listing of Universal Music Group in 2021, Vivendi has endured a significantly high conglomerate discount, substantially reducing its valuation and thereby limiting its ability to carry out external growth transactions for its subsidiaries,” they said in a release. Publishing and distribution assets will make up one group, including Vivendi’s controlling stake in Lagardere and their ownership of French media company Prisma. “This entity would foster collaboration between the different activities related to […]
Tattered Cover Files Reorganization Plan, with Higher Debts Than Originally Declared
Following their first filing for voluntary bankruptcy in mid-October, the owners of Tattered Cover filed a reorganization plan with the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado earlier this week. While the store group initially said it lost about $660,000 during the year last year and owed at least $1.375 million to publishers and Colorado’s Office of the State Auditor for abandoned gift cards, the new documents depict a more severe situation. As of the initial filing in October, they had secured debt of approximately $820,000, and unsecured claims of just over $3.2 million. In the previous year, 2022, […]
Skyhorse to Acquire Regnery
Skyhorse announced a deal to acquire conservative publisher Regnery from Salem Media Group, which amusingly they chose to release through the New York Times. (But it worked, and got the paper to cover an otherwise small acquisition.) Regnery is projecting sales of just $10 million for 2023, and will operate as an imprint of Skyhorse. They bring a backlist of over 1,500 titles. Skyhorse president and publisher Tony Lyons tells the NYT candidly that his books “are provocative and dangerous and disturbing,” which he sees as an argument why stores should carry them, to “encourage dialogue and debate.” The transaction […]
The Year in Mergers
2023 was the year of “finally” in mergers and acquisitions, as two long-in-the-making deals involving some of the largest trade publishers finally closed. Simon & Schuster was sold to KKR three-and-a-half years after their parent company started the sale process. And Lagardere (parent of Hachette Book Group and the rest of Lagardere Publishing) is finally controlled by Vivendi, two years after the latter launched their tender offer to acquire Lagardere, and three-and-a-half years after first buying a stake in Lagardere. In order to take control of Lagardere, Vivendi finally had to divest of Editis — after trying other options — […]
Lerner Acquires Gecko Press
Lerner Publishing Group has acquired New Zealand children’s book publisher Gecko Press, for an undisclosed sum. Gecko has been distributed by Lerner in the US for the past 13 years, and will operate as an international imprint. Starting January 1, Lerner will handle fulfillment, customer service, and general publishing and business management for Gecko worldwide. The company will continue to acquire from New Zealand, and it will keep its distribution partnerships with Bounce in the UK and Walker Books in ANZ. Under the new organization, Gecko plans to launch 18-20 new titles in 2024. Gecko associate publisher Rachel Lawson will “oversee […]