Harlequin’s current parent company Torstar announced second quarter results on Wednesday morning, and the company said it now “anticipate[s] closing the transaction on or about August 1” to sell Harlequin to HarperCollins. They have “received the regulatory clearances and approvals required,” and “while the transaction remains subject to certain customary closing conditions, the parties continue to work toward satisfying these conditions.” Torstar expects to book a gain of approximately $225 million on the sale. For the second quarter, Harlequin’s sales fell $3.1 million to $96.4 million, and net income fell $4 million, to just $1.6 million. The company had $2.3 million […]
Finance
BookLamp Was Bought By Apple
The mystery of BookLamp’s disappearance online has been solved: The company was purchased by Apple. The price was not disclosed, but a source tells Tech Crunch — which reported the news on a tip and then obtained confirmation from Apple — that the price was “higher than $10 million and lower than $15 million.” Apple’s only official comment, was: “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.” In April BookLamp’s web site displayed a “thank you for your support” message that only indicated their beta book recommendation engine (the […]
Legato to Be Merged Into PGW as Suchomel Exits
Ingram’s acquisition of Perseus’s distribution companies will close on July 31 as previously expected, and the first major change will see Legato Publishers Group formally merged into PGW, with founder Mark Suchomel leaving on August 1. The former president of IPG, Suchomel founded Legato in May 2013 and it operated as an “affiliated” of PGW. In a statement Ingram Publisher Services general manager Mark Ouimet said: “As part of the acquisition of the Perseus distribution business and its transition to Ingram, Mark Suchomel will not be continuing on in his role as President of Legato Publishers Group as of August 1, 2014. […]
Rizzoli Acquires Welcome Books
Continuing an active year of acquisitions, Rizzoli International Publications has agreed to acquire the assets of Welcome Books, the publishing imprint of Welcome Enterprises. A publisher of illustrated books in the fields of art, photography, food & wine, parenting, history, travel, pets and social & popular culture, Welcome Books began publishing in 1995, and Rizzoli will continue to publish books under the Welcome imprint. All titles will continue to be sold and distributed domestically by Random House Publishers Service (which represented both companies), and internationally by Rizzoli. Rizzoli associate publisher Jim Muschett will “manage the acquired assets, revising and re-launching key titles, and publishing […]
McGraw-Hill Trims Output, Cuts 18 Jobs
The McGraw-Hill Professional division laid off 18 employees this week — more from the Chicago office, we are told by someone at the company, but with additional reductions from the New York office. President of McGraw-Hill Education Professional Philip Ruppel confirmed, in answer to our query, the “elimination of positions in editorial, marketing, and production.” He noted by email: “we are announcing a portfolio shift of our front list publishing to our employees this week. The changes impact our general interest publishing of new titles for the foreseeable future and have resulted in” those layoffs. Ruppel added: “As the normal course of […]
Approximately 25 Let Go at Globe Pequot & Lyons Press
Two months after Rowman & Littlefield acquired Globe Pequot Press from Morris Communications, the Guilford, CT-based publisher has let go approximately 25 staffers, including a number of people from editorial and sales. Four Lyons Press editors and a manager were let go, as were the managers of Globe Pequot Press and Falcon Guides. In their places, Amy Lyons has been promoted to editorial director at Globe Pequot Press and Katie Benoit has been promoted to editorial director of Falcon. Keith Wallman has been promoted to editorial director at Lyons Press and will hire “new editors to assist him in rebuilding the Lyons program in its traditional areas of […]