Amazon has made yet another strategic acquisition that was just lying there within easy grasp of many others as well, bound to the extend the company’s strong hand in sales of English-language books around the world. They have an agreement to acquire the fast-growing UK-based The Book Depository, for undisclosed terms. Amazon vp of European Retail Greg Greeley says in the brief announcement, “Customers in more than 100 countries enjoy The Book Depository’s vast selection, convenient delivery and free shipping. The Book Depository is very focused on serving its customers around the world, and we look forward to welcoming them […]
Finance
Borders Has Preliminary Sale Agreement with Najafi
Borders announced Thursday night it has entered into an asset purchase agreement with Najafi Companies’ Direct Brands unit, which it will submit to the bankruptcy court as a stalking horse bid as part of a court-supervised auction of the bookseller. “Purchase” is an interesting term (“take” might be another one), since Najafi would put up $215.1 million for “substantially all of the company’s assets,” acquiring inventory potentially worth far more than that, along with assuming $220 million in liabilities. It’s not clear how many locations Najafi intends to keep operating–but there is an agreement in place already with Hilco and […]
Holland’s Arbeiderspers and Balans Are Merging Into Other Units; HMV Takes Big Writedown on Waterstone’s Sale; and More
Holland’s WPG (Weekblad Pers Groep) is merging some its well-known imprints in response to difficult market conditions. Arbeiderspers is going to merge with Bruna, relocating to Utrecht next January while maintaining a small office in Amsterdam. And Balans is going to merge with De Bezige Bij. Now that Waterstone’s has been sold, former parent company HMV reveals in its annual earnings report that the bookseller’s overall sales fell 14.4 million pounds for the year (with comps falling 3.8 percent) at £499.2 million, but operating profit rose to £9.5 million, compared to £2.8 million the year before. HMV also took a £110.5 million pound writedown […]
Nebraska Book Co. Files for Bankruptcy with Debt Restructuring Agreements In Place
Nebraska Book Company, which has been headed towards bankruptcy at least since March in order to restructure a significant debt load, has filed for Chapter 11 in Delaware and at the same time announced agreements with their largest creditors. Though they are not calling it a prepackaged bankruptcy, the privately-owned Nebraska Book says they already have the necessary approvals from holders of over 95 percent of a debt tranche that is due in 2012 and more than 75 percent of notes that mature this December. The company says on their web site that the Chapter 11 filing is required to […]
Briefs: Pottermore Details Leaked; BN eBook Market Share; Indies Charging For Events, Again; And More
The Times UK claims they received an “official marketing memo” by mistake with details about JK Rowling’s Pottermore website, which officially launches Thursday at 7 AM EDT at an event at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. According to the story, Pottermore is “a sophisticated online game that contains clues to prizes that are hidden in the real world. These are an unstated number of magic wands secreted in Britain and America, and possibly other countries.” The Times notes it’s still not clear whether the treasure hunt is Pottermore itself, or a marketing ploy, or if the “leak” is […]
Borders Loses Another $35 Million in May As Sales Talks Intensify
The intensified need for a sale and last-minute maneuvering to get its debtor-in-possession loan extended make all the more sense in light of Borders’ earnings report for the first 28 days of May. The company lost another $35.4 million during that period, of which a little more than half – $18.1 million – came from continuing store operations, with the rest owing to reorganization fees. That means Borders has now lost more than $191 million since filing for Chapter 11 in February. Total revenue for the month was $97 million. But you’d never know if you were reading ceo Mike […]