Amazon announced Tuesday afternoon that it has a deal to acquire Marshall Cavendish Children’s Book’s US trade publishing list, comprising more than 450 children’s books. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Amazon will publish the acquired titles “under an imprint of Amazon’s New York publishing unit” under Larry Kirshbaum, who is now described as publisher of Amazon Publishing, East Coast Group, vaulting the company into the children’s book market. Signaling larger intentions, the company says in the announcement “the acquisition creates the foundation for Amazon Publishing to further expand into picture books, chapter books and YA novels.” The deal allows Marshall Cavendish […]
Finance
Penguin Takes 45 Percent Stake In Brazil’s Companhia das Letras
Penguin has expanded its relationship with Brazil’s Companhia das Letras, taking a 45 percent stake in the publisher. The two companies have collaborated on co-publishing Penguin Classics in Brazil since fall 2009, when they formed Penguin Companhia Classicos and Penguin Companhia. Co-founder Luiz Schwarz writes, “Nothing will change in our philosophy or direction. Our editorial choices will be made as independently as always, but with a closer contact with the great editorial team of the Penguin family around the world. This is how Companhia plans to face the important challenges of publishing’s future: we will join forces with one of […]
Corporate Briefs: Sourcebooks Buys College Costs Sites; Bertelsmann to Add Advisory Group
Through their recently launched division focused on college applicants and attendees, Sourcebooks EDU, the company has acquired two online financial aid resources, the free website managingcollegecost.com and the subscription site myfinancialfit.com. Both were founded by veteran admissions and guidance counselor Frank Palmasani to help families manage the cost of college. Sourcebooks “plans to make these tools more widely available, as well as enhance these resources with additional video, content, webinars, seminars, books, interactive ebooks, and software tools.” Incoming Bertelsmann ceo Thomas Rabe is forming a new high-level advisory committee comprising seven senior executives from the company’s individual divisions which will […]
Barnes & Noble Roller-Coaster
The stock market keeps changing its mind about Barnes & Noble. On November 7, the bookseller’s shares traded at $11.33. Eleven trading days later, they peaked at $18.47, up almost 65 percent. After yesterday’s disappointing earnings news, shares dropped as much as 20 percent and finished the day with a $2 per share decline. Today, shares rebounded dramatically currently up almost 12 percent.
Nook Costs Keep Mounting As Barnes & Noble Misses Sales and Profit Expectations
Barnes & Noble announced second quarter earnings this morning, which we are going to look at from a few perspectives. From a Wall Street vantage point, this was a poor report. Sales were $90 million lower than analysts were expecting, and the company reported a 17-cent-per-share loss, while investors were anticipating a 3-cent-per-share gain. (The company also revealed that the preferred dividend to Liberty Media cost regular shareholders 6 cents a share this quarter.) After a big run-up over the past 15 trading days, investors are pounding Barnes & Noble’s stock again, down almost 20 percent in morning trading, back […]
Upgrade Continues Barnes & Noble’s Stock Boost
Barnes & Noble’s rekindled romance with Wall Street, now entering its tenth trading day, continues apace. Their stock registered resilient gains again yesterday even as the overall market suffered, and it is rising again today, passing the $18 mark in early trading, as another analyst–Gary Balter at Credit Suisse–has upgraded revenue estimates and raised his price target for the stock to $20 a share. Beyond BN’s own guidance that the Nook business will comprise $1.8 billion in the current fiscal year, Credit Suisse projects that segment will grow to $2.25 billion in the following year, and $2.813 billion the year […]