Gaurav Shrinagesh will take over as managing director of Random House India, “responsible for the strategic development of the business and all publishing, operational, sales and marketing functions.” Shrinagesh has held a number of senior positions across Bertelsmann since joining the company in 1999. (Most recently he was the Hong Kong-based managing director for DSHK, part of the Direct Group.) Replacing Michael Moynahan, who is running HarperCollins ANZ, Shrinagesh will report to Brian Davies, md for overseas companies at Random UK.
International News
Quercus Raising More Capital; Cheetham Steps Down
Shut out of traditional credit markets, Quercus is planning to raise 1.75 million pounds “in additional working capital and to strengthen its balance sheet,” nearly all of which will come from Pentland Group, which currently holds almost 20 percent of the company’s stock. Shareholders must approve a waiver from the takeover code, however, to allow Pentland to increase their stake to more than 30 percent. The thinly-traded company currently has a market cap of 3.1 million pounds, with the stock having fallen over 71 percent in a year. The immediate need is to refinance 775,000 pounds in loans that have […]
WH Smith Sales Slide
British-based retailer WH Smith issued a short trading update for September 1 through November, when same-store High Street sales fell 4 percent. They added: “Whilst we remain cautious about the consumer environment and anticipate competitive trading in our markets over the key Christmas period, we have planned accordingly, and the current financial year has started as we expected.” In other UK financials, sales at Canongate for calendar 2007 declined almost 4 percent, down to 7.8 million pounds from 8.1 million the year before, while pre-tax profits fell sharply to 271,000 pounds, 60 percent decline from the year before. The company’s […]
People: Moynahan to Run Harper ANZ
Random House India and chairman of Random House New Zealand Michael Moynahan will move back to become ceo of Harper Collins for Australia and New Zealand in the new year, reporting to Victoria Barnsley. She says, “His extensive publishing background and management experience, along with an impressive track record in growing Random House’s business in both India and New Zealand, make him a perfect choice to take our business to the next level.” Moynahan adds, “Harper Collins ANZ rightly enjoys an enviable position in the market and I am looking forward to working with the team to build on a […]
Australia Continues to Evaluate Lifting Import Restrictions
In their own bureaucratic way, the Australian government is moving ahead with their examination of whether to lift or amend the copyright law that stipulates that if an Australian publisher issues their own version a book released somewhere else in the world within 30 days of its original publication, import editions are banned for sale. The Productivity Commission is required to issue a report within six months.Government release
Goncourt to Afghan Author Rahimi
France’s Prix Goncourt has gone to Atiq Rahimi’s STONE OF PATIENCE (Syngue Sabour), “the story of a woman whose husband suffers brain damage from a bullet wound” according to publisher Editions P.O.L. Born in Afghanistan in 1962, Rahimi fled to Pakistan in his 20s and then received asylum in France before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 after the ejection of the Taliban. The author (also a filmmaker) told French television, “All I can say is: I’m so happy that I’ll need many dictionaries, many encyclopedias to find the word or words, the expressions, to express this reaction.” In the US, […]