In the UK, as Quarto prepares for their special shareholders meeting next week with chairman Laurence Orbach’s board seat on the line, the company issued a short trading update on their third quarter. In classic British style, they don’t report directly on the quarter itself but rather update result for the past 9 months. Add a little arithmetic and you see that sales of $54 million fell $4.2 million in the quarter, down 7 percent, and EBITDA fell to $10.5 million in “subdued trading” that saw “some improvement in September.” They say the weak spot was their “home improvement and […]
International News
eNews: Kobo Opens in South Africa; Brazil’s Saraiva Looks to Sell Online Division; “Patent Troll” Moves to Amazon and BN with New Suit
Kobo has partnered with South African retailer Pick n Pay to launch their devices and ebookstore there, offering books in both English and Afrikaans. There’s further news on Brazil’s leading bookseller Saraiva, whose stock jumped earlier in the month on reports that they might be in acquisition talks with Amazon. The updated Reuters account says Saraiva is looking to sell their online business only, while retaining their 102 bookstores and publishing operation. That goal would seem to fit quite well with Amazon’s continuing aspirations to launch operations, and Kindle in particular, in Brazil–though it could also appeal to other international […]
Financial: D&M Owes More than $6 Million; Quarto Counts Votes In Opposition to Dissidents; and More
The Vancouver Sun obtained bankruptcy documents for publisher D&M, showing the company owes 143 creditors more than $6 million. The largest amount, $3.8 million, is owed to a bank and a printer. Holtzbrinck Publishing Services is owed $354,000, and a number of authors are also among the company’s listed creditors. Quarto has sent out proxy documents to shareholders in advance of the November 7 meeting and vote called by dissident shareholders managed by Harwood Capital. The company’s board says that shares controlled by directors as well as two shareholders (including retired board member and co-founder Robert Morley) provide 31.1 percent […]
Briefs: Two Bidders Remain For McGraw-Hill Education; Nook Opens in the UK As Promised, Pairs with Asda
Citing “people familiar with the situation,” the WSJ reported late last week that Apax Partners (which owns a majority stake in Cengage) and Apollo Global Management are “leading contenders” to buy McGraw-Hill Education, both having done “serious due diligence” on the division. Bids on the ongoing auction were due last Thursday though “after McGraw-Hill decides on a preferred bidder, the two sides will have to reach agreement.” That’s all a polite way of confirming that there are only two bidders still interested in the unit, and the offering prices are likely still below what McGraw-Hill said they were looking for. The […]
eNews: Kindle Japan Store Opens on October 25, with Paperwhite and Fire Devices Set to Ship on November 19
Amazon is finally opening its Japan Kindle store on October 25, which includes more than 50,000 Japanese-language Kindle books from publishers such as Bungeishunju, Gentosha, Kadokawa, Kodansha, Shinchosha, Shogakukan and Shueisha, and includes 15,000 manga titles within that total. The Japanese Kindle store outpost will also sell the Kindle Paperwhite Wi-Fi and 3G for ¥8,480 ($106.31) and ¥12,980 ($162.72), and the Kindle Fire and Fire HD for ¥12,800 ($160.50) and ¥15,800 (USD $198), respectively. The Paperwhite devices will ship from Amazon.co.jp starting November 19 while the Fire devices will be available a month later, on December 19. Retailers K’s Holdings, […]
eNews: iBooks Expected to Add Countries; CoreSource Adds Retailers; Pew Data Should Be Viewed Carefully; and More
With confirmation expected to this afternoon’s Apple presentation (which starts at 1:00 Eastern), there are reports on various blogs and websites that 18 more countries are listed as “pending” to sell iBooks–including New Zealand, Brazil, and Mexico, along with 16 other countries in Latin America, South America. After 10 months of posturing, French newspapers Les Echos reports that the European Commission has issued a stern warning to France over their lowered 7 percent VAT on ebooks. If the rate isn’t lifted in a month, the EC might go to the European Court of Justice. As the Bookseller points out, the […]