The deal announced on August 1 for Amazon to acquired AbeBooks has now closed. The company reaffirms “AbeBooks will continue to function as a stand-alone operation based in Victoria, British Columbia. AbeBooks will maintain all its Web sites, including its Canadian Web site. The Web sites will continue to have country-specific content, such as reviews of Canadian-authored books and interviews of Canadian writers.” Still no update on what Amazon will do with its minority stake in LibraryThing. Release
Finance
Woolworths Goes Down; Bertram's Spared
Last week Woolworths officially filed for bankruptcy is here, with distributor EUK going into receivership along with the Woolworths’ stores division. Improbably, book distributor Bertram’s appears to have been spared, even though it was always listed as part of the EUK division. Deloitte, which had been advising Woolworths’ lenders over the past month, was appointed administrator. Bertram’s, along with Woolworth’s 2Entertain joint venture with the BBC, is reportedly operating normally for now, though it will be sold as part of the liquidation of Woolworths assets. Bertram’s says on their web site, “Bertram’s management has been in contact with Deloitte, which […]
Redstone "Sells" Midway for Tax Loss
As part of the restructuring of his heavily indebted assets Sumner Redstone’s holding company National Amusements will transfer their 87 percent stake in Midway Games to investor Mark Thomas for about $100,000, along with transferring that unit’s $70 million of debt. (It had a market value of $30 million on Friday.) But NA “is expected to realize a 2008 tax loss of more than $800 million, according to a person familiar with the situation.” On the larger question of how he will restructure $1.6 billion in debt, the WSJ adds that “the Redstones are discussing securing their outstanding debt with […]
HMH Officially Has No Idea What They Mean
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s botched public expression of their current acquisitions policy has reached comic levels. In the latest installment, vp of communications Josef Blumenfeld confirms for the AP our report from an agent earlier today that the children’s trade division is still buying projects. Otto Penzler adds that the freeze was news to him, and says that a “high-level Houghton executive” told him he could continue to acquire for his line of mysteries. “‘Does this mean I can keep buying books?'” he asked. “‘Absolutely,’ I was told.” Blumenfeld tries to persuade the AP that “talk of a freeze had been […]
Woolworth's Halts Trading
In the UK, trading in Woolworths’ shares was suspended this morning at the company’s request, as they are on the verge of bankruptcy and deep in negotiations for a rescue. They said in a statement that they are in talks to sell the BBC Woolworths’ 40 percent share of their 2entertain joint venture, which produces and distributes BBC shows on DVD. There are reports of agreement for a sale of that unit for 100 million pounds, but the Times says “the sale of the DVD business hinges on talks over the rest of the business.” The chain is still in […]
No New Books. What's Houghton Thinking?
It was less than a month ago that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt held an “open house” at their New York offices to celebrate the first combined list of the once separate trade lines, but now that welcome is firmly closed as the trade and reference division has “temporarily stopped acquiring manuscripts,” according to vp of communications Josef Blumenfeld. As first reported by PW and followed by the WSJ and NYT, Blumenfeld struggled for metaphors to explain the policy: “We have a temporary freeze on. We are working on what we already have.” Or rather, “there is a freeze-lite” he said. “There […]