The French government’s competition authority has approved Vivendi’s acquisition of Editis, the second-largest book publisher in France after Hachette Livre, finding that the transaction “was not likely to undermine competition in the markets for cultural property.” The Authority “took into account the respective market shares of the parties, the organization of the relevant markets, the competitive pressure exerted by the competitors and the counter-power of certain customers, in particular in the digital sector” and dismissed “any competition problem.” The €900 million deal was formalized in mid-November after several months of negotiations, and is now expected to close right away. Owned by […]
International News
Swedish Subscription Service Positions Itself for Continuing International Growth
On December 3, Swedish digital audio and ebook subscription service Storytel moved trading of their B shares to the higher-profile Nasdaq First North (a part of the exchange reserved for small and high-growth European companies). As part of move, they provided an extensive company description that shares details about their growth and financials. Building on their foundation in Sweden, the company’s play is global: More than half of the close to 800,000 subscriber base resides outside of Sweden, reflecting an aggressive growth strategy in international markets, now including Norway, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, India, Spain, Iceland, UAE, Italy, […]
UK Trade Organizations Issue Extensive “Commitment to Professional Behavior”
A joint “commitment to professional behavior in bookselling and publishing” was published in the UK, endorsed by the Association of Authors’ Agents, The Booksellers Association, The Publishers Association and The Society of Authors. AAA president and agent at David Higham Associates Lizzy Kremer, who spearheaded the effort after a Bookseller survey last year showed extensive reports of sexual harassment in the workplace, says in the release: “Working together as trade associations and colleagues over the last several months to write down our ideals and aims, we have provoked discussion of what ‘professional behaviour’ means to us across every echelon of […]
Corporate: Australian Online Bookseller to Sell Crowdfunded Stock
Australian online bookseller Booktopia has a new plan to raise investment capital after dropping a plan to go public in late 2016. The company is using crowdfunding platform Equitise to raise between $3 million and $10 million (AU), Books and Publishing reports. They are selling 8.1 percent of the business, which had sales of $113 million in the most recent fiscal year (approximately $83.5 million US), with $1.9 million in profit. Booktopia CEO Tony Nash says, “We have always said that our customers have been our investors because they bought books from us and we used those funds to re-invest […]
As Brazilian Book Trade Struggles, A Call for Support
Brazil’s book trade is suffering mightily from bankruptcy reorganization filings over the past month from the country’s two largest bookstore chains, Cultura and Saraiva. The latter reported debt of approximately $168 million, and among their top creditors is Editora Schwarcz / Companhia das Letras — where Penguin Random House recently boosted their stake to a majority share — which is owed close to $5 million. Publisher Luis Schwarcz explained the situation recently in an open “love letter to books” that is being passed around widely. He notes, “I experienced one of the worst moments of my personal and professional life when, […]
Vivendi Formalizes Deal to Buy Editis In France
Three months after announcing “exclusive negotiations with Grupo Planeta,” last week in reporting third quarter earnings Vivendi said it had signed a share purchase agreement for French publishing group Editis. The deal requires approval from the French Competition Authority, though Vivendi says preliminary “favorable opinions” were issued on November 8, and September 13. They hope the deal will close “in late 2018 or early 2019.” Beyond that, there are no new details about the terms. They reiterate their previous statement from the summer that Editis’s enterprise value is €900 million.