Springer Science+Business has finally been unloaded, from one group of private equity firms (Candover and Cinven) to another: Sweden’s EQT Partners, with an 18 percent share being taken by the Singapore government’s investment company. The transaction is more a restructuring of Springer’s extensive 2.2 billion euros of debt than a conventional purchase. The purchase price was not released, though sources are guessing that the sale included 150 million euros in actual cash on top of the assumption of that mountain of debt.Bloomberg
Finance
Barnes & Noble Bought Children's Self-Publisher Tikatok
BN disclosed for the first time in its quarterly SEC filing that on September 24 the company bought Tikatok for $2.3 million. Tikatok.com lets parents and their children write, illustrate, and publish stories into hardcover and paperback books. Barnes & Noble says it “plans to use Tikatok as part of its overall digital strategy, expanding the company’s reach to additional parents, educators and librarians.”Filing
Baker & Taylor Buys Blackwell NA; Sells UK Branch
Baker & Taylor announced yesterday they are buying Blackwell Book Services North America to integrate with YBP and Australia-based James Bennett bookseller (also owned by Blackwell). In turn, they are selling their UK unit Lindsay and Croft to Blackwell UK. Also, “Baker & Taylor’s YBP Library Services and Blackwell U.K. have entered into a strategic sourcing agreement under which YBP Library Services will source all U.K.-published academic material from Blackwell U.K., and Blackwell U.K. will source all U.S.-published academic material from YBP Library Services.”Release
Pearson CFO Thinks Borders US Is Solid; Layoffs at Borders UK; Dubai's Stake In HMH Parent
A number of British publishing officials have said their financial vulnerability to the failure of Borders UK is quite limited, with Pearson cfo Robin Freestone telling a London media summit “our exposure is very, very low to that Borders UK situation.” Freestone is worried about certain unspecified retailers in other parts of the world, but he is publicly hopeful about the larger American Borders. “The big question mark this time last year was Borders U.S. … I think they’ve come through it. I do sense they’re on the up,” Freestone said. The stock market has remained more doubtful, sending Borders […]
Bookselling: Borders UK In Bankruptcy; Another Gay and Lesbian Store to Close; Update On Elliott Bay
As expected, Borders UK filed for “administration” (the UK equivalent of bankruptcy) last week, with the firm MCR overseeing the process after another company, BDO, pulled out at the last minute citing an unspecified conflict. Stores started offering discounts immediately thereafter to help sell off existing merchandise while employees and publishers wait to see if anyone is interested in buying part or all of the chain. The Bookseller’s anonymous “Borders Insider” wrote of confusion and changing orders at the store level over how deeply to discount. Most UK newspaper accounts expect the chain to be liquidated, with the possibility that […]
BN Warns On Low Store Traffic and Higher Nook Costs
Barnes & Noble reported that store sales fell 2 percent to $950 million in their second quarter, with same-store sales down 3.2 percent (the smallest comp decline in the past six quarters, believe it or not). BN.com sales rose 9 percent at $120 million, and College sales for a one-month period only of $65 million were down 0.2 percent on a same-store basis. They reported a lost of $24 million, or 43 cents a share–with 30 cents of operating loss and 13 cents attributed to the College acquisition. Worrisome to both Wall Street and the trade, BN warned that they […]