Sainsbury’s has passed on the social network part of Anobii (a European Bookish, with all that implies), to Mondadori. Despite Anobii’s multi-year efforts to build a viable ebookstore focused on the UK, the site’s strength — if there was one — was an international audience centered in Asia (since it was founded in Hong Kong in 2006) and Italy (Anobii was run for many years by Italian-born Matteo Berlucchi). Mondadori says in the release that Anobii’s “strongest base” is Italy, “with 300,000 users.” Mondadori Group chief executive Ernesto Mauri says, “A platform that will enable us to listen to people is […]
Finance
Ingram Unit Buys CourseSmart
Ingram’s VitalSource announced Monday it has acquired the assets of CourseSmart, the online textbook venture created in 2007 by a coalition of the field’s dominant publishers, including Macmillan, Cengage Learning, Wiley, McGraw-Hill Education and Pearson. CourseSmart has millions of users around the world and “offers access to over 90 percent of core higher education titles as e-textbooks along with the largest catalog of e-resources and digital course materials.” Ingram says “CourseSmart’s strengths in inventory, instructor sampling and analytics will be integrated with Vital Source’s reader platform and global, scalable distribution network. By combining the two organizations, Vital Source will offer the world’s largest […]
December Lawsuit Alleging Fraud May Shed Light on Macadam/Cage Bankruptcy
The first creditors meeting in the Macadam/Cage Chapter 7 bankruptcy case was held on February 25 at the trustee office in San Francisco, with more creditors expecting to file notices in the court. As the case continues, a lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court on December 4 by former employee Dorothy Smith may help illuminate why Macadam/Cage began liquidation proceedings just two weeks later. A graphic designer who was employed by Macadam/Cage from January 2001 through December 2011 (and consulted for them thereafter from January through June 2012), Smith sued for the repayment of loans made to the company […]
Corporate: F+W Expands Burda Deal; OverDrive Acquisition; Osprey Games
F+W Media has expanded their licensing deal from 2013 to develop Burda Style USA, into a broader 50/50 joint venture with Burda Media “to run the brand Burda Style in the USA and Canada, as well as the UK digital activities of Burda Style.” F+W ceo David Nussbaum says in the release, “This joint venture brings together two of the largest entities serving the craft market and represents the next stage of our trusted partnership with the Burda team. Through organic growth and strategic acquisitions, F+W Media has expanded its reach in the US craft market serving tens of millions of consumers […]
Barnes & Noble Improves Profit On Lower Sales; Cut 190 Nook Jobs and Promises New Color Device, Higher Ed Tech Launch
Sales for the big holiday third quarter at Barnes & Noble fell 10.3 percent overall to $1.996 billion (down $228 million), but EBITDA improved considerably — on a reduction of Nook losses — to $173 million, compared to just $59 million a year ago, when they first took big inventory losses on unsold Nook devices (of $74 million). In coming attractions, one way or another, in their ever-shifting device strategy they “plan to launch a new Nook color device in early fiscal 2015” (which begins in late April), doing so “in collaboration with a third-party partner.” More broadly, BN says […]
Small Investor/Agitator Touts Unfinanced “Proposal” to Buy Control of Barnes & Noble Or Nook
Michael Glickstein’s G Asset Management — by all outward indications a one-man shop — has been agitating the Barnes & Noble board to increase shareholder value since 2011 without much success, but on Friday he discovered the power of a press release and put himself on the map. Put on the wire early Friday afternoon, G Asset Management’s announcement touted their “proposal” to acquire a controlling stake in all of Barnes & Noble or, failing that, the “Nook segment,” which does not exist currently as a freestanding piece. This is not an actual bid, or even a formal offer. G Asset […]