Skyhorse Publishing announced on Friday that they have acquired New York-based Allworth Press, which publishes business and self-help books for artists, photographers, graphic designers, and interior designers as well as for filmmakers, performing artists, and authors. Founder Tad Crawford will continue as publisher of Allworth, which has a backlist of over 300 books and publishes 18 to 20 new titles a year. They say in the announcement that Allworth had sales of $1.4 million in 2009. Skyhorse president Tony Lyons says in the release, “I have admired Allworth Press for two decades. Skyhorse is always looking for quality lists and […]
Finance
Barnes & Noble Bidding Update
Following ratification by shareholders of the bookseller’s poison pill plan, the WSJ updated the status of Barnes & Noble’s evaluation of potential bids. “About eight or ten” bidders, both private-equity firms and strategic acquirers, “remain interested” in an acquisition according to “people familiar with the matter.” That’s winnowed from approximately 20 bidders originally said to have been interested in reviewing the company’s financials. The second round of bids is said to be “due in a few weeks,” with no certainty on how many of those interested parties will present revised offers. Chairman Len Riggio said Wednesday he hopes they will […]
Barnes & Noble Poison Pill Approved; Aletheia Continues to Trim their Position
With no active resistance this time around from Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa, Barnes & Noble shareholders officially and “overwhelmingly” ratified the company’s poison pill plan, with 72 percent of votes cast in favor. Separately, in a periodic SEC filing, Aletheia Research & Management indicated that they have continued to trim their position in Barnes & Noble’s stock, they though still hold a substantial stake comprising just over 14 percent of all shares. In the past two months, they had a net sale of approximately 635,000 shares, now down to roughly 8.4 million shares as of November 10 after holding about 9.05 […]
Joseph-Beth Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy; Will Close Another Two Stores
Following our report from a week ago that Joseph-Beth Booksellers was closing stores in Pittsburgh and Charlotte, NC, yesterday the group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Lexington, KY and indicated that they will close another store in Cleveland and a Davis-Kidd store in Nashville. Owner Neil Van Uum said in statement, “Davis-Kidd has been an institution in Nashville. It breaks my heart to have to close this store.” Former co-owner Karen Davis was taken by surprise and “very disappointed and saddened” as well. “I think it holds a special place in a lot of people’s hearts.” The company […]
Random House Offers A Big Part of Their Headquarters Building for Sublet
Random House is looking to sublet up to nine of their 24 floors in their office building on Broadway, comprising as much as 250,000 of 645,000 square feet. Spokesman Stuart Applebaum tells the WSJ that dealing with the Peter Olson-era albatross presents a “potential savings in the millions of dollars.” He notes, “We’re in the book business, not the real-estate business. We’ll reinvest our savings into our publishing.” (With an asking rent of $55 a foot, the sublet could comprise close to $14 million annually.) Applebaum says that approximately 30 percent of Random House’s office space is currently vacant. But […]
Bloomsbury Buys Duckworth Academic; Will Distribute Trade Line
Bloomsbury has purchased the Duckworth Academic list outright from Gerald Duckworth & Company, and as an “integral” part of the deal, Bloomsbury will distribute the Duckworth trade list starting in March 2011. Bloomsbury will operate Duckworth Academic, which focuses on books about the ancient world, as Bristol Classical Press, through the Bloomsbury Academic division. Duckworth owner Peter Mayer emphasizes that the deal is driven by the growth of the company’s trade line. Jon Jackson has been named editorial director of Duckworth trade a Ben Slight is sales coordinator (he was a regional manager at Waterstone’s). He says, “With the recent […]