It’s another fascinating day of fallout from the sales of Wiley’s trade assets. In Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s recently issued 2012 annual report, the company characterizes their acquisition of Wiley’s culinary and reference books as a “bargain purchase.” It was such a good deal, in fact, that HMH booked a special $30.8 million gain on the acquisition. They paid $11 million, but determined that “the fair value assigned to the net assets exceeded the consideration paid,” valuing the whole package at $41.8 million. That tells you something about how lean the offers were for Wiley’s properties, regardless of their value, and […]
Finance
Wiley Finds A Buyer for Miscellaneous Trade Lines
Wiley’s remaining grab-bag of trade publishing titles for disposal–their pets and crafts lines; brands and lines including Howell Book House and Baseball Prospectus; and other books, comprising 1,500 titles in all–have been sold to Turner Publishing in a deal that closed April 2. Terms were not disclosed today but, as with Wiley’s asset sales to Google and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, will likely be acknowledged in their next quarterly report. Turner president and publisher Todd Bottorff said “this strategic acquisition broadens Turner’s list…and represents an exciting growth opportunity within the crafts, pets, and general interest areas.” Indeed, it more than doubles […]
People, Etc.
The new controlling owners of the Agatha Christie estate have signed with William Morris Endeavor for exclusive representation of all facets of the estate, “expanding its reach across television, film and digital media.” Acorn Productions acquired the 64 percent stake in Agatha Christie Ltd that had been owned by Chorion in February 2012, calling it “the most important deal in the company’s history.” The Agatha Christie family owns the remaining 36 percent. Christie’s literary works include over 80 novels and short story collections and 19 plays, which they say continue to sell at a rate of over three million books per year […]
The Price of Goodreads
The details of Amazon’s planned purchase of Goodreads were not revealed officially (though they are likely to be disclosed in a quarterly SEC filing after the deal closes). For now the most credible information comes from multiple WSJ reporters. First Kara Swisher reported on Friday that “Amazon paid about $150 million…but that number could close in on $200 million, if certain performance metrics are met…. I am still trying to determine how much of the deal was cash — most of it, said sources — and how much was stock.” Then two more WSJ reporters posted that “Amazon will pay […]
Bertelsmann Backs Food52, Which Will Partner with Random House
In other social online opportunities, Food52, a social site for cooks founded by Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs in 2009, has closed a $2 million round of financing in which Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments is a significant participant. Among their plans is “expanding our publishing platform through an innovative partnership with Random House Inc.” VP business development at the Crown publishing group Ranjana Wingender says, “We are excited to welcome the Food52 investment as part of the Bertelsmann Family – we at Random House have long considered them a leader not just in food content but also as a community of writers.” […]
As Amazon Buys Goodreads, Some Look to Alternatives
The basics have been well reported within minutes of Amazon’s announcement on Thursday after the close the of market. In what is widely recognized as a very smart move by the retailer, they have an agreement to acquire Goodreads for an undisclosed sum. Goodreads was backed by venture capitalist True Ventures, so it was going to be sold to someone. Started seven years ago, the social network for books had been interviewing experienced publishing executives in recent months as part of an exploration of selling books directly from the site to their 16 million members. Goodreads and its staff of […]