Months after long-troubled Dorchester Publishing went into foreclosure with more than $2.9 million in outstanding debts to owner John Backe, it appears Amazon Publishing is in line to acquire the company’s backlist, contracts, and other intellectual property, according to a notice of public disposition issued on June 27 and first reported on by agent Richard Curtis. Potential bidders have until August 15 to submit competing offers and, should there be additional bidders, an auction will be held on August 28 at the offices of Garfunkel Wild in Great Neck, NY. Considering how long Dorchester’s assets have been up for grabs, […]
Finance
News Corp Makes Publishing Unit Spinoff Official
Thursday morning News Corp made official what multiple news outlets had been reporting on for the past few days: the company will split into two publicly traded entities, the much larger (and more profitable) media and entertainment division, as well a smaller publishing business comprising newspapers such as the WSJ, New York Post, and The Times (London) and Sunday Times, its integrated marketing services division, fledgling education company, as well as, of course, HarperCollins. Under the terms of the separation, which needs to be approved by the board and signed off on by regulatory agencies, News Corp’s shareholders “would receive […]
Briefs: Gallimard Officially Acquires Flammarion; Smashwords Set To Provide Self-Published eBooks to Califa Library Consortium; and More
After months on the block, with a number of bidders dropping out and an asking price that nobody wanted to meet, RCS is officially selling French publisher Flammarion to Gallimard — the front-runner all along — for 251 million Euros, nearly 50 million below that original asking price. Reuters reports that RCS will receive about 230 million from the sale, and will post a consolidated gain of 88 million euros. The deal is expected to close in September. A number of publishers met with the European Commission in Brussels Tuesday to call for the streamlining of taxes on ebook purchases […]
Corporate: News Corp Considers Splitting Off Publishing Division; HMH Officially Exits Bankruptcy
Following on a widely cited report from the WSJ that News Corp was considering splitting off its publishing division — including HarperCollins — from the rest of its business, the company confirmed that “it is considering a restructuring to separate its business into two distinct publicly traded companies,” with the NYT adding that further news about the possible spinoff could come as soon as this week. While the move has been speculated about for several years, more seriously since the phone-hacking scandal broke open last summer, company ceo Rupert Murdoch has apparently and “recently warmed to the idea”, which would […]
Barnes & Noble Results Disappoint Again, But Bookstore Comps Are Up 4.5 Percent
Barnes & Noble continues their string of earnings disappointments with fourth quarter sales and losses that were not as good as either the official analyst estimates or the Wall Street “whisper numbers.” The chain recorded fourth quarter sales of $1.38 billion, only $5 million more than a year ago, and a consolidated net loss of $57.7 million, or $1.08 per share. For the full fiscal year, sales of $7.1 billion rose just 2 percent and the consolidated net loss was $68.9 million, or $1.41 per share. As you would expect, shares are trading down this morning on the missed targets, […]
Phaidon Hires Banker, Seeks Buyer
Phaidon Press has retained investment bankers Greenhill to show the publisher to prospective buyers. Current owner Richard Schlagman bought Phaidon out of bankruptcy in 1990 and “said that he had decided that it was time for another owner to lead its transition from a largely print business to the digital era of iPads, Kindles and other ereading devices.” He admits that Phaidon underwent “retrenchment” in 2009 and 2010 by says the company is “profitable and growing.” The FT says documents filed with the UK’s Companies House show sales of £25 million in the fiscal year ending June 2011 were up […]