The European Commission sent a Statement of Objections to Vivendi, asserting a “preliminary view that the company breached the [EU] notification requirement and the ‘standstill obligation,'” suggesting that the French company may have breached EU merger rules by asserting control over aspects of Lagardere in 2023, before the commission gave approval to the proposed merger. The investigation was opened in July 2023. The EU’s approval process hinged on Vivendi selling their publishing and magazine businesses, including book publisher Editis, which the EC also had to approve. The Commission alleges that, before they approved Vivendi’s divestment of Editis, Vivendi was already […]
International News
Harper to Acquire Crunchyroll Manga in France and Germany; Plus A Merger of Indie Publishers
Harper Collins will acquire global anime brand Crunchyroll‘s manga publishing operations of in France and Germany. The transaction is set to close in the second half of 2025, subject to regulatory approval. After the deal is finalized, Hideki Iyama-Desseigne will lead the team, reporting to Chantal Restivo-Alessi at Harper. Harper ceo Brian Murray says in the announcement, “We are thrilled to expand our manga portfolio in Europe, building on our already successful Japanese business. As the only major western publisher operating in Japan, this acquisition strengthens our expertise and capabilities in this fast-growing category. This is a significant step toward broadening […]
Some Authors Leave VBK In Protest
In the Netherlands, some authors have decided to leave Dutch publisher VBK in protest of parent company KKR, NL Times reports. KKR has owned Simon & Schuster since 2023 and S&S purchased VBK last year. KKR invests in German publisher Axel Springer, which owns the Israeli classified site Yad2, which hosts real estate listings in occupied Palestinian territory. Protestors have also accused KKR of involvement with other Israeli businesses and defense companies that supply Israel. Author Dirk Wanrooij and other VBK authors are asking the publisher to speak out against the private equity company. “The publisher is hiding behind: ‘we have […]
UK Maintains Copyright Exhaustion Laws, Rejects Tech Transparency Amendment
The UK won’t change its post-Brexit IP rights exhaustion laws, after a lengthy consultation with stakeholders. According to the current and future regime, which is preferred by authors and publishers, copyrighted goods such as books that are sold in the UK or European Economic Area can be re-sold in the territories. The move avoids cheaper-priced books from outside of the EEA coming into the UK and undercutting the market. “This is an important step in maintaining the strength of our world-leading intellectual property framework,” Minister for AI and Digital Government Feryal Clark said.” The decision we’ve taken not only gives […]
More on Tariffs
On Wednesday Donald Trump announced a 90 day pause on most of the administration’s new tariffs, along with an increase in the tariffs on goods from China. (China’s retaliatory counter tariffs are 84 percent.) Correcting the information yesterday sourced from the ABA post’s, Canada has not yet levied any tariffs on books imported from the US, after soliciting comment and hearing appeals from the book industry. Books had been listed as a possible category for tariffs on a Canadian notice of intent to impose counter-tariffs.
More on Tariffs for Book Production Materials and US Exports
The American Booksellers Association published an explainer on how the new tariffs will affect the book world. As previously reported, standard printed books imported into the US are exempt from the new tariffs. However, the cost of producing books—and thus, book prices—could go up, if publishers use ink, pulp, or paper imported from other countries, such as China or the EU. Paper from Canada (and Mexico) that is “wholly grown, produced, or manufactured” within the country is exempt, since it’s subject to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Retaliatory tariffs from other countries will affect books exported by US publishers, however. […]