Two years after she was dismissed from her position as svp, publisher of Crown in a reorganization after it was merged into the Random House Publishing Group, Molly Stern has formally announced her new independent publishing company, Zando (named for her sons, Zach and Oscar). The company is backed by “a significant start-up investment” from Sister, the studio founded in 2019 by Elisabeth Murdoch, Stacey Snider and Jane Featherstone. Those three all sit on Zando’s board of directors, along with Matthew Lieber of Gimlet, and producer David Benioff. Murdoch says “Molly and Sister have a huge passion for new voices” […]
Finance
People, Etc.
At Writers House, Maria Aughavin has been promoted to evp, finance; Albert Araneo moved up to evp, business affairs; and Cecilia de la Campa is now evp, global media & licensing. Jonathan Morris has been promoted to production coordinator at Random House Children’s. Rights At the end of the year Penguin Random House Canada is taking back in-house the sub-rights business that they turned over to The Cooke Agency International in 2009, in “a strategic shift…in order to drive international growth across our publishing.” Adrienne Tang has been hired as vp, subsidiary rights, reporting to ceo Kristin Cochrane. Tang was at Kids Can […]
Arnault Again Ups His Stake in Lagardere
French billionaire Bernard Arnault made another modest purchase of Lagardere stock on October 14, adding approximately 2.2 percent of shares outstanding. Arnault’s companies now hold just over 15 percent of shares (and 16.93 percent of voting rights), and company ceo Arnaud Lagardere owns 7.3 percent of the public shares. In late September, Arnault had made his first direct investment in Lagardere, a 5 percent stake. The new purchase came just a day before a French court is due to decide on whether investors Amber Capital and Vivendi have the right to demand a special shareholders meeting to vote on board […]
Vivendi Grows Lagardere Stake
Vivendi continues to build their stake in Lagardere, filing notice last week after passing the 25 percent threshold — having built their position up to 26.7 percent of shares. They began buying the stock in April of this year — starting with a 10.6 percent stake — initially as a show of support for management in the first stages of its battle with activist investor Amber Capital. In mid-August Vivendi aligned with Amber in calling to seat four members of the board, and that campaign has intensified since, also enlisting the third-largest shareholder in Lagadere, the Qatar Investment Authority — […]
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Fires Another 525 People
In typically craven corporate-speak, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt announced mass firings this morning: Approximately 525 employees have been let go effective immediately. Earlier in September, the company noted that 166 employees had read the tea leaves and participated in their early retirement plan. The two moves combined have eliminated approximately 22 percent of the workforce (roughly taking them from 3,300 employees down to 2,600 people). Other savings include a “reduction of manufacturing costs as the business shifts from print to digital offerings” and “a streamlining of back office costs as legacy systems and print-centric processes are retired.” The company estimates that […]
LSC Sale to Atlas Holdings Wins Court Approval
LSC’s sale to Atlas Holdings has been approved by the bankruptcy court. An affiliate of Atlas Holdings, with support from LSC’s secured creditors, will acquire substantially all of the company’s assets, according to this morning’s press release. The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2020, subject to closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. LSC ceo Thomas J. Quinlan III said, “We are confident that through this partnership with Atlas, LSC will be uniquely well-positioned to strengthen and grow our market-leading position and provide our customers with the same high standards of quality, reliability and innovation,” and thanks employees […]