Just before the holidays Penguin Random House quietly laid off an unspecified number of people in the umbrella group comprising PRH Audio, Fodor’s Travel, and Living Language. Division spokesperson Katie Punia confirmed in answer to our query that “a number of positions are being eliminated,” but said she was “not able to comment further” on the layoffs. One source indicated the eliminated positions were largely on the print side, possibly numbering around 15 jobs.
Finance
2015: The Year In Mergers
The intense M&A activity from 2013 and 2014 carried over into 2015, though the sale of domestic trade publishers was modest, so the common perception was of fewer mergers. In trade, the biggest deal might be the one that never happened. Up until the end of the summer, it was widely expected that Pearson would exercise their option to have Bertelsmann buy out their 47 percent share in Penguin Random House. Instead, Pearson raised cash by selling the Financial Times and then their share in The Economist, and a sale to Bertelsmann — whether outright, or in the “steps” that Bertelsmann […]
People, Etc.
At the Random House Publishing Group, Sanyu Dillon, Theresa Zoro, Susan Kamil, and Scott Shannon have all been promoted to executive vice president — comprising the executive leadership team, along with existing evps Bill Takes and Kara Welsh (whose announcement as publisher Ballantine Bantam Dell was noted Thursday) . RHPG president and publisher Gina Centrello said in the announcement: “Through our many organizational evolutions and publishing expansions, these exceptional people have helped me create an unparalleled publishing strategy for the division, while expertly managing their respective departments. Individually and collectively, they are the best of the best in the business, and I […]
Corporate: Harper Pairs with Producer; Ingram Acquires Aer.io; Hachette Buys Kero; and More
HarperCollins is trying another relationship with a video producer. This time, they have “agreed to a strategic framework” with Insurrection Media to option and develop books in sci-fi, drama, and comedy for both digital video and linear television series. They will “jointly identify key titles that are most compelling and suitable for video series and then co-develop and produce shows to be owned and distributed by Insurrection in the U.S. and overseas on a multitude of over-the-top and linear video platforms.” The first announced title for development is Debra Driza‘s Mila 2.0 trilogy, published by Katherine Tegen Books. Overlooked by most outlets is that Driza’s work was […]
BN Education Announces Stock Buyback
Now that no one else seems to want its stock since reducing forecasts for the year when reporting quarterly earnings a week ago, Barnes & Noble Education announced that the board has authorized stock repurchases of up to $50 million worth of shares. That has given the company’s shares a small boost in price this morning, though BNED still trades below $9 a share — down over 40 percent from its recent peak on November 27. With a current market capitalization of only about $425 million, that repurchase authority covers a meaningful portion of shares outstanding.
Shareholders Approve Plan to Take Books-A-Million Private
As expected, Books-A-Million shareholders approved the Anderson family’s plan to take the company private in a deal worth $3.25 a share. The transaction is set to close on Thursday, December 10, and, according to BAMM’s announcement, the merger agreement was adopted by the stockholders representing approximately 88.3 percent of the aggregate voting power of outstanding common stock, as well as by 66.3 percent of shareholders not affiliated with the Anderson family, “thus satisfying the ‘majority of the minority’ stockholder approval condition in the merger agreement.” In their most recent quarterly filing, posted last month, Books-A-Million reported third quarter sales of […]