In Canada, Dundurn Press has acquired Thomas Allen Publishers, the publishing arm that Thomas Allen & Son started up in 2000, in a deal expected to close Thursday. The sale includes the publisher’s backlist of 126 titles, including Giller winners HALF BLOOD BLUES by Esi Edugyan and THE POLISHED HOE by Austin Clarke. Dundurn president Kirk Howard told the National Post the deal has been in the works since February, when Thomas Allen president Jim Allen approached him about a possible sale in order to return the parent company “back to its core business, which is distribution.” Dundurn will release the […]
Finance
Barnes & Noble Increases Historical Earnings, Pays Lynch Severance, and Postpones Nook International Rollout
Barnes & Noble filed restated historical financial statements with the SEC after concluding that they had “overstated certain accruals for the periods prior to April 27, 2013, as a result of inadequate controls over the accrual reconciliation process at its distribution centers.” The company made a few other historical restatements as well. The primary effect was to increase their reportable earnings from the past three years–so the 2012 net loss got $4 million smaller; the 2011 loss got $5 million smaller; and the 2010 earnings rose $6 million. With those corrections, the company also filed their delayed annual report with […]
Houghton Hires Bankers for Potential IPO
Ever since Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s second bankruptcy reorganization in 2012, the company has aspired to offer shares to the public (giving their lender/owners a chance to recoup some money). A year ago ceo Linda Zecher told the press she hoped the company could prepare an IPO “over the next 18 to 24 months,” and now Reuters reports progress on that front, right on schedule. Sources say HMH has hired Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Credit Suisse and Wells Fargo to prepare an IPO. The current expectation is raise approximately $250 million in equity, with an offering aimed at the fourth […]
Lonely Planet Plans Broad Layoffs In “Challenging” Market
Lonely Planet announced layoffs internally, called “a series of changes to its operations in response to a challenging external environment and to position the company for continued success.” They warned that “a number of positions at our offices around the world have the potential to be affected and we are in consultation with individuals whose roles may be impacted.” Australian media accounts estimated the layoffs at 80 to 100 jobs, mostly in Australia, but COO Daniel Houghton appears to have “confirmed around 70- 80 roles would be made redundant worldwide” to the Sydney Morning Herald. Houghton told Skift.com, which first […]
Restructuring, or Bankruptcy, Looms for Spain’s Prisa
This spring Spanish media reports touted the idea that troubled Spanish media conglomerate Prisa Group was looking to sell book publisher Alfaguara — possibly to Random House. The company admitted it was “in talks for the transmission of this asset and other Grupo Prisa assets with various partners.” With no deals yet, the WSJ now reports that Prisa is considering a bankruptcy filing — in the US or Spain — possibly as a negotiation technique with lenders as they look to refinance or restructure approximately $3 billion in debt. A short-term loan provided in early June while restructuring discussions were […]
New Owners Will Run Bookmasters In “Strategic Partnership” with Baker & Taylor
While private equity firm Castle Harlan has indeed bought Bookmasters from the Wurster family through one of the investment funds they control, the anticipated press release indicates they will keep it separate from Baker & Taylor — which they also own — while creating a “strategic partnership” between the two. (The original report we cited from the Ashland Gazette indicated the two companies would be merged together.) According to the release, “the two companies will operate under a commercial agreement to capitalize on their complementary strengths” though each is “independently owned” by Castle Harlan funds. Baker & Taylor will offer […]