Following investor Ron Burkle’s spinoff of Barnes & Noble shares from his various investment funds to individual investors, another block holder in the bookseller announced a reduction in their holdings. Mutual fund company Fidelity said in an SEC filing that as of May 31 their 10 percent stake in BN was reduced to a 1.956 percent share (comprising 1.177 million shares of stock). The larger holding had been revealed in February, and was acquired as of December 31, 2011. BN’s stock has been under continuing downward pressure, probably because of these large sellers over the past few weeks. Shares closed […]
Finance
Sainsbury’s Relieves HMV of Anobii
UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s has taken HMV’s 45 percent stake in ebook social network site Anobii off of their hands for a mighty £1. They are making an additional, unspecified “investment in the future” of Anobii that will provide them a total controlling share of what is “anticipated” as a 64 percent stake. HarperCollins, Penguin and Random House UK will remain as minority partners, presumably with some dilution as the result of Sainsbury’s additional investment. HMV paid $3.25 million for their Anobii holding in early 2011, and recorded a £1 million loss in the most recent year on Anobii and another […]
Warner’s TV Unit Buys Alloy Entertainment
Alloy Entertainment has been acquired by Warner Bros. Television Group, purchasing the company from an investor group led by Zelnick Media. Zelnick and their partners took Alloy private in mid-2010 for $126.5 million, with senior management investing in the purchase. So it’s no surprise that Alloy’s top executive Leslie Morgenstern will continue to run the unit. The company is best-known for its television series, including Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars, and The Lying Game–all based on books developed by Alloy, and many already produced and distributed by Warner. The purchase price was not disclosed but a “person familiar” with the […]
Burkle Divests BN Stock as Promised, Reducing Stake to Just 0.9 Percent
In a filing with the SEC Tuesday evening Ron Burkle revealed that his Yucaipa Cos. funds, Yucaipa American Alliance II and Yucaipa American Alliance Parallel Funds, had divested themselves of the bulk of the nearly 20 percent stake in Barnes & Noble on May 31. Yucaipa said it had distributed more than 11.9 million shares “in kind” on a pro rata basis to unnamed investors. When Yucaipa explained the original filing in mid-May, they insisted that the move was a reallocation among Burkle’s complicated interests, “distributing shares to some of its affiliates,” and not a move to sell or divest their stake. […]
Amazon Acquires Genre Publisher Avalon Publishing’s List
Amazon Publishing announced Monday that they have acquired publication rights to 0ver 3,000 backlist titles from Avalon Books, founded in 1950 and focused on publishing romance, mystery and Western novels to the library market. Bill Barry acted as exclusive broker on Avalon’s behalf. Publisher of Avalon Books Ellen Bouregy Mickelsen said in the announcement, “I’ve been running Avalon Books–which was founded by my father–since 1995, and it is time for me to explore the next chapter of my life. I chose Amazon Publishing because they care deeply about the writers, readers, and categories that have long mattered to our family business and they are […]
Corporate: Indigo Q4 Sales Decline Despite One-Shot Kobo Earnings Gain; Flammarion Sale Negotiations Are Extended
Indigo reported sales of C$196 million for the fourth quarter ending March 31, down 2 percent from the previous year, while suffering an operating loss of C$15.7 million from continuing operations, higher than the C$13.7 million the company lost the previous year. But Indigo received a one-shot earnings gain of C$135.7 million from selling Kobo to Rakuten (booking a pre-tax gain of $165 million, presumably less operating losses from the unit). For the full fiscal year, Indigo revenues decreased 2.3 percent to C$934 million and the company reported net profits of C$66.2 million — of which C$94 million was attributed […]