We already have to expand our recap of mergers and acquisitions for 2014: Workman Publishing announced the sale of its audiobook imprint HighBridge to Recorded Books as of May 1. (As noted in our list of 2014, Recorded Books itself was bought by new investors earlier this year.) Workman will continue to distribute HighBridge, and Workman imprint Algonquin will continue to license audio rights of select titles to HighBridge. The deal is notable since historically Workman has always been a buyer, not a seller, of assets. They acquired HighBridge in 2006 from Target. Carol Workman says in the announcement: “Our affiliation with HighBridge has […]
Finance
Publishing M&A 2014
News Corp.’s agreement to acquire Harlequin and F+W’s acquisition by Tinicum are among the biggest deals in what has already been a busy year for mergers and acquisitions among book publishing related companies — along with the failed deal to sell Perseus to Hachette Book Group and Ingram. (This was originally posted in early May, and then updated multiple times thereafter.) Among the announced deals (some of which have not closed yet) since January 1, 2014 are: Hachette Book Group > Black Dog & Leventhal Start Publishing > Cleis Press Bonnier Publishing > Igloo Books AGI > Vigliano Associates Apa Publishing […]
New Investors Take Control of F+W
F+W has sold a majority stake in the company — which just rebranded itself as “a digital-first content and service provider for devoted enthusiasts” — to New York-based private investment firm Tinicum and affiliated funds. F+W ceo David Nussbaum says in the announcement, “This investment will enable us to continue to rapidly grow our ecommerce revenues by building on our platforms and creating best-in-class content and ecommerce solutions. Our singular focus on our communities and creating an unrivaled experience for our consumers will not change.” Nussbaum told employees in a written message that “having the backing of one of the top private equity […]
News Corp. to Acquire Harlequin
News Corp. will acquire Harlequin Enterprises from Torstar for C$455 million (the final price was $414 million in US dollars, net of $19 million in cash on Harlequin’s balance sheet). Harlequin will become a division of HarperCollins but will remain headquartered in Toronto. Torstar originally acquired control of Harlequin in 1975 and full ownership in 1981. Both parties said they expect the deal to close by the end of September, pending approval by regulatory bodies in both US and Canada, as well as Torstar shareholders. (It’s possible that the deal would be subject to review in other territories as well, primarily […]
People: Deborah Rogers Dies, and More
Prominent UK literary agent Deborah Rogers died yesterday, of a suspected heart attack, the Bookseller reports. Rogers, Coleridge and White confirmed the death of its chairman — who was presented with a lifetime achievement award just weeks ago at the London Book Fair. One of her authors, Kazuo Ishiguro, commented: “I’m groping for consolations in the face of this loss, but one of them is that she departed absolutely at the top of her game, knowing no decline. In the last few months, she was sharper, wiser, more energetic than at any time in the 34 years I’ve known her.” Brittney Ross […]
Hodder Purchase of Quercus Moves Forward
Hachette UK’s Hodder & Stoughton deal to acquire Quercus has become “unconditional,” which essentially finalizes the deal as it heads towards the formal closing. Quercus chief executive Mark Smith is leaving the company, but will serve as a consultant for an unspecified period of time. As noted in March, when H&S agreed to pay £12.6 million, Quercus will operate as its own division, under the supervision of Jamie Hodder-Williams. H&S reiterates that it will honor all written contracts, and a spokesperson tells us “all existing arrangements will remain in place,” including Quercus’s US-based business. Hodder-Williams comments in the announcement: “I […]