Befitting the pandemic year, 2020 recorded only modest merger activity, as most potential buyers focused on preserving liquidity over acquisitions. In the end, the year was as notable for what didn’t happen as what did. Cengage and McGraw Hill called off what would have been the year’s biggest merger after running into resistance from the…
Finance
People, Etc.
Obituaries National Book Award winner Barry Lopez, 75, died Christmas Day following a lengthy battle with prostate cancer. Publishing veteran Roland Elgey, 65, died recently of colorectal cancer. He was 65 years old. His 40 years in publishing included serving as president of Que Computer Publishing and svp of sales at Que/Sams, Hungry Minds. Later…
Struggling Barnes & Noble Education Gets $15 Million Investment from Sports Merchandiser
Barnes & Noble Education got a lift from news of a modest $15 million investment from sports team retailer Fanatics (and their brick-and-mortar subsidiary that sells hats and other merch, Lids). The investors will receive 2.3 million shares in BNED, bought at the far-above-market price of $6.50 a share. The parties intend to create a…
Briefs
Riky Stock will join North South Books as managing director on January 1. She will focus on “strengthening transatlantic ties to the company’s head office in Zurich, Switzerland and developing a more international approach to marketing and communications.” Stock was head of the German Book Office in New York and represented the Frankfurt Book Fair…
McGraw Hill Announces Plan to Refinance Its Substantial Debt
McGraw Hill has announced it had entered into a transaction support agreement that would extend its debt maturity through late 2024. Its revolving credit facility would also be extended, to November 2023. “The Transaction will address upcoming maturities and reduce First Lien leverage without materially increasing total leverage or cash interest expense,” according to a…
People, Etc.
John le Carré, the pen name of David Cornwell, 89, who wrote The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, A Perfect Spy, Tinker, Tailer, Solidier Spy, and many more, died of pneumonia December 12, in Cornwall, England. Johnny Geller, his longtime agent at Curtis Brown UK, said in an announcement on Sunday night, “John…