In what appears to be a definitive strike in consolidating online book discovery under one virtual roof, Amazon announced Thursday afternoon that it acquired Goodreads for an undisclosed sum. The company’s headquarters are expected to remain in San Francisco with the deal set to close in the second quarter of 2013 subject to various closing conditions. Founded in 2006 by Otis Chandler, Goodreads boasts more than 16 million members — vaulting it ahead of Shelfari (which Amazon acquired in 2008), LibraryThing (in which Amazon has a stake after buying AbeBooks in 2008), and Bookish, which finally opened for business earlier […]
Finance
Reuters’ Sources Say Penguin Random House Merger to be Approved by EU
Two people have gone ahead and leaked that the European Commission will approve the Penguin Random House merger with no requirement of any concessions on or before their stated deadline of April 5. An EC spokesperson declined to comment. The deal has already been cleared in the US, Australia and New Zealand. Canada has been the most quiet investigation so far, with no stated deadline (they won’t even acknowledge publicly that they are reviewing the deal).
Random House Posts Big Profits on Fifty Shades
Random House had sales of €2.142 billion (up 393 million euros, or 22 percent) and record operating EBIT of 325 million euros (a 75 percent increase over 185 million euros a year ago) in 2012, on the extraordinary sales of over 70 million copies of EL James’s Fifty Shades trilogy sold in English, German and Spanish editions. The company was strong around the world, as it “posted year-on-year increases in revenue and operating EBIT across all its territories.” Results for the second half of the fiscal year by itself were €1.195 billion in sales and operating EBIT of €212 million. At parent […]
BN’s Big Ask Is Back In the News
The standoff over terms between Barnes & Noble and Simon & Schuster–which agents, authors and some at the publisher itself say have resulted in significantly reduced orders and display of S&S books in the bookseller’s stores since January–was given national attention by both the WSJ and the NYT at the end of last week. (PW had reported briefly on the dispute in late January.) Those reduced sales have hit authors large and small, including bestselling author Jodi Picoult. Her agent Laura Gross confirmed to the NYT that Barnes & Noble has “taken limited orders, limited placement, and did not do […]
University of Nebraska Press to Acquire Potomac Books; Digital Publisher Frederator Launches
University of Nebraska Press is purchasing substantially all the assets of Potomac Books for $1.2 million in a deal set to close by the end of March. The plan includes the acquisition of their inventory, publication rights, and the trade name of Potomac Books. The company specializes in military history and military affairs and “thus, UNP will publish and sell new works in this area, and will market and sell the existing inventory under the Potomac name.” According to the minutes from a meeting of the UN regents, the acquisition includes “a minimum of $700,000 in existing print inventory and another $100,000 for PBI’s […]
Cengage Hires Restructuring Advisers, Draws Down Credit Line
Confirming reports last month, heavily-indebted publisher Cengage has formally retained restructuring firm Alvarez & Marsal, along with restructuring attorneys at Kirkland & Ellis and restructuring bankers at Lazard, “as part of ongoing efforts to assess its capital structure.” The company has to reckon with approximately $5.3 billion in debt and weakening sales and profits. At the same time as the appointments, the company all but maxed out their revolving line of credit, drawing down another $430 million to make sure they can fill their working capital needs. Spokesman James McCusker told the WSJ, “We would prefer to have the money […]