On Thursday Penguin Random House’s parent company Bertelsmann will be the last of the big companies to report financial results through June 30, and when that happens, there will be something different about PRH’s results. The company will use a different accounting method for their ebook sales, making their overall sales for the past six months unlike previous PRH reports. That will also make their sales report unlike those of all the other publishers that we have reported so far this earnings season. That difference is that for many (but not all) ebook sales, PRH will start counting the full consumer […]
Finance
Penguin Random House Offers Early Retirement Buyout
Penguin Random House announced internally on Wednesday an early retirement buyout offer for veteran employees, described in a post from chief human resources officer Frank Steinert: “We are pleased to announce that we are making available a Voluntary Separation Offering (VSO) for a set of our long-tenured employees.” They suggest it “might be helpful” for employees “who are considering making a change in their personal or professional lives.” The offer applies to PRH employees in the US with 20 years or more of service at the company, who will be at least 60 years old by the end of the […]
Quarto Approves Taking On Still More Debt
At a special meeting, Quarto Group shareholders approved an amendment to the company by-laws so that they can take on still more debt (which stood at $64 million as of their last annual report). Just over 10 million shares, or a little over half of the shares outstanding, voted in favor of the proposal. Almost all of the other shares were not voted at all, suggesting that other holders knew that the alliance between co-founder and former ceo Laurence Orbach and Chuk Kin Lau of Lion Rock Group — who control 47 percent of the shares — would have their […]
Acquisitions: HBG Buys Worthy Publishing, As Insight Editions Buys Weldon Owen
Hachette Book Group has agreed to acquire the assets of Nashville, TN-based Christian publisher Worthy Publishing. When the deal is finalized, Worthy will become part of Hachette’s Nashville publishing division. Worthy publishes across categories including inspiration, fiction, Bible study, current events, devotion, leadership, biography, and personal growth. Their fall list includes Mike Huckabee’s new book, Rare, Medium or Done Well and a new fiction series from Jerry Jenkins. Hachette Nashville publisher Rolf Zettersten says in the announcement: “I have the utmost respect for the experience, instincts, and insights of Byron Williamson and his team, and I know that adding Hachette […]
Treasury Department Proposals Could Give High-Earning Authors, Agents Benefit of New Tax Cut for Businesses
The Treasury Department released proposed regulations to clarify and codify how the big tax cut (aka the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) applies to owners of sole proprietorships, partnerships, trusts, and S corporations. By early interpretations, high-earning authors would qualify for the new 20 percent deduction of qualified business income, and it appears as if literary agents would be eligible as well. (Two important caveats: These rules are still proposals, they are not final yet; and everyone will need to examine their own situation with their own tax professional.) As the NYT notes, it “probably means a windfall for authors […]
Briefs: UTA Sells Stake; Clinton and Patterson Sales Milestone; NEH Book Grants
In the capital-raising arms race among the big Hollywood talent agencies — which have grown into entertainment conglomerates themselves — United Talent Agency sold a minority stake to Investcorp and PSP Investments. Deadline and Variety say they sold approximately 40 percent of the agency, for an estimated $200 million. (When the search for investors was initiated earlier this year, Deadline said UTA has revenues of over $325 million a year, with profit of $50 million.) Some proceeds will be spread among employees throughout the agency, while a portion will go to “accelerate” their growth and “enhance UTA’s services.” The agency has more than […]