Marjorie Scardino, 65, “has decided to step down” as chief executive of Pearson at the end of the year. Current head of their international education division John Fallon, 50, will take over on January 1, 2013. The company notes his “division is fundamental to Pearson’s growth strategy,” having grown to £1.4 billion in sales and employing 15,000 people in 70 countries. As education has come to dominate Pearson–and produce solid growth–analysts and investor have often lobbied for the sale of the FT Group and Penguin. Scardino had vowed not to sell the FT, but with the change at top, Ian […]
Finance
Wiley Buys Online Learning Service Provider for $220 Million
Wiley is investing in online learning services, agreeing to purchase private-held Chicago-based Deltak.edu for $220 million. They say it will “significantly accelerate Wiley’s digital learning strategy and diversify the company’s service offerings to include operational and academic solutions for higher education institutions.” Deltak provides provides technology platforms and services that support over 100 online learning programs. The company had sales of $54 million for the just-ended fiscal year, and the deal is expected to close by the end of the month.
Quarto Vote Set for November 7
As predicted last week, Quarto has set a special meeting date for November 7 on the dissident shareholder call to remove Laurence Orbach and replace him with Tim Chadwick. The company’s board has recommended that shareholders vote against the proposal, and that is how board member-controlled stock comprising 15.2 percent of shares (mostly Orbach’s) will vote. The board says that “during a radical period of adjustment in the book publishing industry, the company has managed to build a successful and growing business.” They endorse their own “clear, well thought-out and well-received succession plan,” under which recently-hired coo Marcus Leaver will […]
Poindexter Says Penguin Suit Was “The Last Straw” In Deciding to Sell MacAdam/Cage
We expected that there were some dots to be connected between Penguin’s suit against MacAdam/Cage over the ebook publication of Susan Vreeland’s Girl With Hyacinth Blue, and MacAdam/Cage founder and owner David Poindexter has now confirmed that in a reply to our queries. Poindexter was in contact with Penguin’s attorney last week regarding the suit, filed June 20, and was told “they do intend to proceed with the suit.” Poindexter says by e-mail, “This was the last straw that made me decide to sell. There are many, many good people in publishing, but I have had my fill of the […]
MacAdam/Cage Puts Itself Up For Sale
After years of financial trouble San Francisco-based independent publisher MacAdam/Cage is up for sale. Founder and publisher David Poindexter indicated to Shelf Awareness the 14-year-old company “doesn’t have the resources to continue publishing properly for the long term” and that the ideal purchaser would be “someone like myself 15 years ago, with the drive, commitment and resources who wants to get involved in the literary landscape in America on the publishing side” and who could take over “where we leave off.” The sale announcement comes one week after we reported on a June 20 lawsuit filed by Penguin against MacAdam/Cage […]
VBK To Become Independent; United Agents Negotiates to Acquire AP Watt
There are two big international publishing developments. Dutch and Belgian publishing conglomerate Veen Bosch & Keuning (VBK) will become an independent company, owned by management and staff, on November 1, buying their freedom from the NDC|VBK Publishing Group. ING Bank is supplying some of the financing and will hold a minority interest in the company. VBK was formed in 2001 with the merger of Peat Publishers Group and Bosch & Keuning, and they merged with Northern Daily Combination (NDC) in 2005. Their units include Ambo Anthos, Atlas-Contact, De Fontein, Kok Ten Have, and Luitingh-Sijthoff, and comprise all of NDC/VBK’s trade publishing […]