Late last week, French billionaire Bernard Arnault bought a 5 percent stake in the publicly-traded shares of Lagardere, signaling the strength of his commitment to supporting ceo Arnaud Lagardere as a majority of shareholders seek to shake up the board and management of the company. Earlier this year Arnault helped shore up Mr. Lagardere financially,…
International News
As Qatar Switches Sides, A Majority of Shareholders Seek to Reseat Lagardere’s Board
Lagardere’s third-largest shareholder Qatar Holding indicated support for major dissidents Amber Capital and Vivendi in giving owners of the stock a meaningful stake in the company’s governance. While the statement issued Tuesday night in a “rare public incursion” from the Qatar Investment Authority stopped short of explicitly backing the push for a special shareholder meeting…
Corporate: Abrams Acquires Cameron, Bonnier UK Makes Flexible Work Permanent, and More
Abrams has acquired Cameron + Company, a family-owned publisher based in Petaluma, CA, publishing books with a focus on photography, art, food and wine, children’s books, and topics of regional interest. Abrams has distributed the line since early 2018. Cameron + Company will be a separate division under Abrams, with vice president and publisher Chris…
International: Hachette UK Acquires Laurence King, and More
Hachette UK has extended their string of modest acquisitions in purchasing Laurence King Publishing (best known for Johanna Basford’s coloring books). King himself, who recently turned 65, will leave after a six-month term as a consultant. Hachette UK has been the distributor for LKP. In 2018, the most recently reported year, LKP had sales of…
China Literature Says “Lack of Resilience” Led to Big Operating Loss
Online literature and entertainment platform China Literature announced results for the six months ended June 30, with sales of RMB3.26 billion ($460.5 million), up from RMB2.97 billion in the first six months of 2019. Most significantly, however, the company recorded a major operating loss of RMB3.56 billion ($502.2 million), compared to earnings of RMB527.7 million…
People, Etc.
Pronoy Sarkar has been promoted to editor at St. Martin’s Publishing Group. Allison Sundstrom has been promoted to associate art director, children’s at Sourcebooks. Nicole Lyons has been promoted to manager of operations at Wayside Publishing. Events The ALA has announced that its 2021 Midwinter Meeting, scheduled for January 22-26 in Indianapolis, will take place…