After putting Egmont USA up for sale last October, parent company Egmont Publishing announced that it “has decided to close the office, effective from January 31,” since “attempts to sell” the unit “have not resulted in any final agreements.” January 30 will be the last day of employment for Egmont USA staff. But they will issue their spring 2015 list even without local staff, and their books will continue to be available through their distributor Random House. (Their spring 2015 catalog lists 10 titles for publication.) Six jobs will be eliminated when the US office closes. And recent PM deal reports […]
Finance
Barnes & Noble Retail CEO Mitch Klipper To Retire (But Stay On As Real Estate Advisor)
Barnes & Noble’s chief executive for the retail group, Mitchell Klipper, will retire from his role on May 2 (the end of BN’s 2015 fiscal year) after more than 28 years with the company, though he will stay on with the company as special advisor on real estate and other matters through May 3, 2019, at an annual base salary of $400,000. A search for Klipper’s successor is underway, and he will have a hand in the selection process. BN chairman and founder Leonard Riggio said in the announcement: “Mitchell Klipper’s contributions to Barnes & Noble have been nothing short […]
Quad/Graphics to Acquire Courier for $129 Million In Cash and $130 Million In Stock
On Friday, in the ever-consolidating printer sector, Quad/Graphics announced an agreement to acquire Courier Corp. for $129 million in cash and approximately 4.8 million shares of stock. Quad/Graphics says the deal “accelerates [its] three-year strategy to transform its book platform, which the company announced earlier this week.” The deal is expected to close by the middle of the year, and Quad/Graphics says they are paying “less than five times adjusted EBITDA after taking into account anticipated synergies.” Courier’s James F. Conway III will join Quad/Graphics as president of the book division. Courier’s stock rose by about a third on Friday, to close […]
European Commission Moving Towards Tax Ruling Against Amazon and Luxembourg
Per the article we clipped yesterday, moving at the speed of bureaucracy, on Friday the European Commission published its preliminary finding that the 2003 tax agreement between Luxembourg and Amazon’s European holding company based in that country violates EU treaties. “The Commission is of the opinion that the Amazon ruling [from Luxembourg] does not comply with the arm’s length principle. Accordingly, the Commission is of the opinion that through the contested tax ruling the Luxembourgish authorities confer an advantage on Amazon. That advantage is obtained every year and on-going….” Part of what’s at issue is that the 2003 ruling was issued in a […]
Macmillan Science and Education to Merge with Springer Science
In a structure reminiscent of the Penguin Random House merger, two science and education giants are coming together in a cashless merger: Holtzbrinck’s Macmillan Science and Education (comprising Nature, Palgrave Macmillan and Macmillan Education globally but not in the US) is combining with Springer Science+Business Media (owned by funds advised by BCP), in “a strategic transaction…aimed at securing the long-term growth of both businesses.” Holtzbrinck will hold a 53 percent stake in the combined entity, with the management board comprising Derk Haank (ceo), Annette Thomas (chief scientific officer), Martin Mos (coo) and Ulrich Vest (coo). The supervisory board features three people from Holtzbrinck and […]
Recorded Books Acquires Tantor Media
Recorded Books has acquired audio publisher Tantor Media, with a catalog of approximately 5,000 titles. Sale terms were not officially disclosed but the NYT reports the price was “about $25 million.” Private equity firm Wasserstein & Co. acquired Recorded Books from Haights Cross Communications a little less than a year ago, and then they bought HighBridge Audio from Workman Publishing in April, which was integrated into Recorded Books. Wasserstein co-managing partner Anup Bagaria tells the NYT, “We’ve taken a sleepy business and really accelerated growth” through acquisitions and organic improvements. Tantor will continue to operate out of its current Old Saybrook, CT facility. Jones Day […]