Vp, book production for HarperCollins John Vitale is leaving the company on August 24 after more than 44 years in the business (he began at Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., which was acquired by Harper & Row in 1977.) Replacing him is Tracey Menzies, who is being promoted to vp, production and creative operations and will oversee all print production for the publisher. Also at Harper, Kristine Macrides returns to the sales department as director of sales and retail marketing, overseeing day-to-day operations for the mass merch, club and ID sales channels (she has been director of marketing for Avon). Lillie […]
Finance
McGraw-Hill Education Sale Process Moves Forward
It’s clear that “sources” with an interest in seeing McGraw-Hill Education sold off for top dollar are going to keep the media informed as the bidding process moves along. In an “exclusive” report Reuters reveals that Apollo Global Management (first identified in a mid-July WSJ story) is among those to “put in initial bids.” Not surprisingly, Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners–who were partners in the underbid for Thomson Learning (which then became Cengage)–are also named in the story. They may be the only private equity firms to have made money in the education space over the last decade […]
Hachette UK Reduces Education Division
In the UK, Hachette is realigning its education businesses. The health sciences and higher education lines are being sold to Taylor & Francis, the Bookseller reports. CEO Tim Hely Hutchinson tells the magazine, “they were sub-scale and could not compete with the major, much larger, publishers in the area. After exploring a number of options, we decided that selling them to Taylor & Francis was the best outcome.” The consumer education line is being moved into Hodder & Stoughton. In accompanying personnel changes, Lis Tribe is being promoted to managing director of the reduced Hodder Education division and current ceo […]
Corporate: F+W Acquires Interweave; HarperCollins Creates Christian Publishing Division
F+W Media continues its expansion by acquiring Aspire Media, parent company of digital art and craft enthusiast media company Interweave, from private equity firms Frontenac Company, Catalyst Investors, Clay Hall, and several members of the Interweave management team. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but F+W ceo David Nussbaum calls it “a transformative acquisition” that “makes us a dominant player in craft and art in books, magazines, ecommerce, and ultimately online TV and other initiatives.” The new units will make F+W 30 percent larger in revenues. Frontenac managing director Walter Florence has joined the F+W Media board of directors, while Interweave ceo […]
Sales Rise at OUP As Profits Diminish
Also reporting results, Oxford University Press issued their annual report, saying sales of £695 million for the year ending March 31 2012, up by 7 percent over the previous year’s £648.6 million, boosted by a 16 percent gain in emerging markets. But pre-tax profit of £115 million for the year was down £7.5 million from a year ago, and the company transferred £53 million to the University of Oxford to fund its operations. Chief Executive Nigel Portwood says in the announcement: “We faced difficult market conditions last year, but nevertheless developed some truly innovative publishing which will help support the […]
Osprey Acquires Duncan Baird and Watkins Publishing; DreamWorks Said to Bid for Classic Media
Osprey Group has acquired Duncan Baird Publishers, which focuses on illustrated books in the fields of food, health and well-being, mind, body and spirit, culture, religion and faith, including its Watkins Publishing unit (which Duncan Baird originally bought in 2004.) Duncan Baird’s total sales in 2011 were £5.5m while Osprey Group’s sales were £7m. “We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Duncan Baird and Watkins into the group,” Osprey Group ceo Rebecca Smart said in a statement. “Duncan has created a really strong business in the growing lifestyle and transformation publishing areas and has also worked on strengthening the Watkins name. We plan […]