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 […]
Finance
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 […]
Baker & Taylor Acquires Bookmasters
A full announcement is due shortly, but an Ashland, OH newspaper has reported that Baker & Taylor is intensifying their competition with rival Ingram by merging with the family-owned Bookmasters. Private equity firm Castle Harlan, which owns Baker & Taylor, has made the purchase and will merge B&T with Bookmasters. The paper says Bookmasters’ 200 employees were told of the news in a company meeting last week. The acquisition provides Baker & Taylor with some of the same printing and publisher-distribution services that Ingram has aggressively added to in recent years, along with ebook distribution services and other “integrated publishing […]
Cengage Files For Bankruptcy On Schedule; Will Eliminate Over $4 Billion of Debt
As expected, Cengage Learning and all of its US subsidiaries have voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, to “significantly reduce” their gigantic debt load of $5.8 billion. The deal with their first lien holders will restructure the company’s obligations to eliminate “more than $4 billion in debt.” New financing is not required for now, however. The company says it “maintains substantial cash balances and expects to generate positive cash flow, and therefore does not need nor intend to obtain debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing.” CEO Michael Hansen says exactly what executives say in this situation: “A more appropriately-sized capital structure, along […]
With The Merger Complete, Some of Penguin Random House’s Next Steps
Following the merger of Penguin and Random House into a single global entity, a new corporate website is already live, complete with a merged company history and new @penguinrandomhouse.com email exchanges (though the company says the “immensity and technical complexity of the project” means US and Canadian staffers won’t switch over to the new email addresses for months.) In a letter to US staff, Penguin Random House ceo Markus Dohle said he has “learned a lot” from meetings and conversations since the merger announcement eight months ago. “You have delivered a strong performance over the past eight months, during a time when […]