Later in the morning television host and author of the just-released Get Rich Carefully Jim Cramer provided an investment view of publishing and the larger media landscape. Extending the morning’s discussion, he said, “I simply don’t know how to stop Amazon. It’s not constrained by the need to make money. It’s modern art. It’s Jackson Pollock. It can’t be explained. It’s a Rothko, and everyone else is Rembrandt — and everyone else is worth a lot less.” At the same time, Cramer noted, “it is the best multi-year growth story out there.” Ironically, because the share price is fueled by […]
Finance
In Restructuring At Atlantic Books, Mirchandani Exits and Allen and Unwin Takes Control
After two “tough” years, the UK’s Atlantic Books has announced “a significant financial and organizational restructuring.” Shareholders are providing “substantial new funding, and editor-in-chief since 2007 Ravi Mirchandani is leaving “by mutual agreement.” The Bookseller says that minority shareholder Allen and Unwin has increased their investment to a majority share of the company. CEO Toby Mundy tells the magazine their results for 2012 were “pretty horrible” but says the new investment “puts us on much more stable footing, after a month or two of uncertainty. Although I’m very sad to be seeing some good people go, the change is good news […]
Regnery Parent Company Is Sold to Salem Communications
As first reported in early December by Politico (and then mangled by some others over the holidays), publicly-held Christian radio broadcaster Salem Communications has indeed acquired the assets of Eagle Publishing, whose properties include Regnery Publishing. The company declares it creates “a conservative media powerhouse” combining “many of conservatism’s finest voices in talk radio, book publishing and digital media.” Eagle president Jeff Carneal says in the release, “When we made the decision to sell the company we knew we wanted to find a strong buyer that would fully embrace [owner] Tom Phillip’s important vision. Of the several interested suitors, Salem provided the […]
More Corporate Sales: Academy Chicago, and UK Agency Pollinger
Chicago Review Press has acquired Academy Chicago Publishers for an undisclosed sum (though a spokeswoman for the purchaser cited a “six-figure price”) which will have Chicago Review Press publishing original fiction for the first time. They expect to immediately begin publishing fifteen to twenty new titles annually under the Academy Chicago imprint. Jordan and Anita Miller, who founded ACP in 1975, will work as editors at-large for Chicago Review Press for the next two years, and IPG will distribute all Academy Chicago Publishers books, including their backlist of approximately 300 titles. Chicago Review Press publisher Cynthia Sherry said in the announcement: “Our two companies have […]
Macmillan Acquires Cookstr; Schwalbe Named to Executive Role
Macmillan has acquired six-year-old recipe web site Cookstr for an undisclosed sum, in a deal advised by Headwaters MB. Co-founder Will Schwalbe will stay with the site as its leader and takes on the additional role of evp, editorial development and content innovation for Macmillan, acquiring books across the company’s publishing imprints. He will report to global trade coo Andrew Weber. (Cookstr’s director of editorial and partnerships Kara Rota continues to report to Schwalbe.) According to the announcement, Cookstr now attracts over 8 million unique visitors a month. It was founded in 2008 by Schwalbe and Katie Workman, along with Art Chang at Tipping Point […]
Kensington Acquires Digital Publisher Lyrical Press
Kensington has acquired digital publisher Lyrical Press, which has published more than 250 romance, YA, and other genre titles. They will operate it as a digital-first imprint under the oversight of Adam Zacharius, Kensington’s director of special projects and alternative media. Lyrical Press founder Renee Rocco will remain with the imprint as managing director. All books published by the imprint will be DRM-free, with print-on-demand editions available for titles that exceed 60,000 words. Kensington ceo Steven Zacharius said in the announcement that he had been looking to acquire “a digital imprint that works efficiently like a small independent press.” He […]