Alliance Entertainment will buy most of the assets of Diamond Comic Distributors in Diamond’s bankruptcy sale, subject to court approval, with a hearing scheduled for Thursday morning. The deal includes Diamond Comic Distributors (U.S.), Alliance Game Distributors, Diamond Select Toys & Collectibles, and Collectible Grading Authority, and is expected to close in April. The acquisition will expand Alliance’s portfolio with Diamond’s IP and broaden Alliance’s reach into comic book shops and other retailers serviced by Diamond. The winning bid has not been released yet, but Alliance says it will increase its revolving credit facility by $40 million to finance the […]
Finance
Unbound Assets Sold to Its Own Execs in Bankruptcy Deal
UK crowd-funded publisher Unbound, which recently fell short of its fundraising goals and failed to pay authors and freelancers, has gone into bankruptcy administration, the Bookseller reports. A new company run by Unbound’s top executives, called Boundless IP Ltd, has bought Unbound’s IP, publishing contracts, vendor relationships, and other assets in a “pre-packaged sale”. Boundless is a “full-risk traditional publisher” run by Unbound ceo Archna Sharma and co-founded by Unbound co-founder and publisher John Mitchinson, who will act as director. Sharma has brought in new investors to the new company. Boundless says that they will continue the publication of most […]
Zando to Acquire Tin House Books
Zando will acquire Tin House’s book publishing operations, including their frontlist, backlist of more than 200 titles, and trademark. According to the announcement, “Zando plans to elevate the impact of Tin House’s existing, illustrious backlist, activating Zando’s own robust publishing infrastructure to enhance sales, marketing, and distribution efficiencies for Tin House titles. Their shared aim is to enable the literary publisher to maintain its stellar pedigree while augmenting its abilities to discover and nurture today’s best literary talents.” Tin House founder Win McCormack will “continue his association with the list” as chair of Tin House. Tin House editorial leader Masie […]
Only Two Buyers Compete for WH Smith High Street Stores
Two companies that specialized in troubled retailers — Alteri and Modella Capital — are the reported bidders for WH Smith’s high street stores. Sky News suggests that, “a definitive deal could be announced at the time of WH Smith’s interim results in April.” The parent company announced the sale plans at the end of January. Sales in the division have been shrinking for many years now, and books have comprised a smaller portion of the revenue mix. A recent report in the Times indicated that management had concluded it was “unlikely” they would allow the new buyer to license the […]
Najafi Sells Author Solutions
The former leader in self publishing Author Solutions has been sold by the Najafi Companies, to Center Street Ventures. Najafi took Author Solutions off of Penguin Random House’s hands at the end of 2015. Penguin had acquired the business for $116 million in mid-2012 from Bertram Capital — about 3 months before Penguin and Random House agreed to merge.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Owner Looks to Merge Company with Cambium Learning
Veritas Capital, the investment firm that took Houghton Mifflin Harcourt private in 2022, is reported to be preparing a merger between HMH and Cambium Learning — which Veritas acquired in 2018. Citing two people familiar with the plans, Bloomberg indicates the standard disclaimers: “Deliberations are ongoing and no final decisions have been taken, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. A representative for Veritas declined to comment.” The merger has been expected since Veritas acquired HMH. Cambium carries $2.15 billion in debt and HMH has $2.5 billion in loans outstanding, according to Bloomberg. A year ago, […]