The FT names Infinitas Learning (what used to be the education division of Wolters Kluwer) as another prospect interested in Santillana, called the “market leader in school textbooks in Spanish-speaking Latin America.” Owner Prisa could “sell up to 30 per cent of the business in a deal that could fetch up to ¬360m ($512m)” as they restructure their debt. The paper adds that “owning a stake in Santillana would fit with Pearson’s expansion into educational publishing outside the US, where the group is twice the size of any of its competitors.”FT
Finance
Screen-Maker PVI to Acquire E Ink for $215
Here’s a sign of the actual (and anticipated) growth of the market for e-readers: Prime View International, the company the manufactures the screens for both Kindle and the Sony Reader, is buying E Ink. “The new company will expand capacity and develop improvements for ePaper display screens that are easy on the eyes, long-lasting, and highly portable.” (PVI bought Philips Electronics’ ePaper business in 2005.) Interestingly, the company quotes in their press release iSuppli analyst Vinita Jakhanwal, saying “the market for electronic book devices such as the Sony Reader and Amazon Kindle is forecasted to grow from 1.1 million units […]
HMH Parent Aims to Swap Equity for Debt
The Irish Independent cite says Houghton Mifflin Harcourt parent company Education Media & Publishing Group, just like the ailing auto giants, is “on the cusp of finalizing a massive restructuring of its balance sheet, which will see holders of a chunk of its $7 billion debt turn their exposure into equity.” Citing “market sources,” they say that as a result, financial whiz and current ceo Barry O’Callaghan would have his 38 percent stake significantly diluted. Reed Elsevier would also see the 11.8 percent stake they took as part of the sale of Harcourt diluted in such a deal. While “it […]
Corporate News: Pearson Still Expects "Tough Market Conditions"; Informa Adjusts; Waterstone's Cuts Deeper than Expected
Pearson offered a first quarter interim statement, reaffirming their expectations from early March when they reported full-year results. “For 2009 as a whole, we expect tough market conditions for US School publishing, financial advertising and the consumer books industry…. At Penguin, we continue to see challenging trading conditions for book publishers and booksellers. Demand for new fiction and non-fiction is generally good and growth in digital formats is very strong, but illustrated reference and travel categories are weak.” Release Informa is selling extra shares to raise 242 million pounds in order to cut its debt. The stock rose sharply, interpreted […]
Amazon's Next Purchase: Stanza
Amazon has bought Lexcyle, makers of the Stanza reader application, for an undisclosed price. Stanza has been downloaded by approximately 1.8 million users. Lexcycle says on its web site, “We are not planning any changes in the Stanza application or user experience as a result of the acquisition. Customers will still be able to browse, buy, and read ebooks from our many content partners.” But of course it’s now up to what Amazon plans. When launching their iPhone app for Kindle, Amazon made it clear that they find the iPhone an inferior platform for long-form immersive reading, but fine as […]
Borders Drops Stock Split for Now; Will Clean Out Board
With its shares trading at over $1 per share for almost two weeks now, Borders has decided not to ask shareholders to approve a reverse stock split at the company’s annual meeting on May 21. (The NY Stock Exchange has also decided to temporarily suspend the dollar-per-share minimum for all companies.) Borders also announced a sweeping change in the composition of its board. Two positions will be eliminated as it shrinks to eight members–and five directors who will still stand for re-election intend to “step down over the coming months as suitable replacements are found.” They have so many openings […]