International News

Penguin Random House acquired Seattle-based publisher Sasquatch Books, which it already distributes through Penguin Random House Publisher Services, last month, for undisclosed terms. Sasquatch will continue to be distributed through PRHPS will report to that unit’s president Jeff Abraham. No changes are planned for its location, management, or staff. Abraham says, “When it became known that the company was looking for new ownership to take Sasquatch to the next level, the prospect of PRHPS acquiring the company, while maintaining its independence in Seattle, was enormously appealing to both sides. We’ve accomplished so much with the incredible team at Sasquatch over the last few years. Now, […]

Dorling Kindersley has agreed to sell travel publisher Rough Guides to APA Publications, which publishes Insight Guides and Berlitz. Terms were not disclosed. Reported in a statement from Penguin Random House in the UK, the Bookseller reports the company says DK will begin consultation with the 30 staff members who still work on Rough Guides. DK ceo Ian Hudson said the sale was made after a “wide-ranging travel publishing review,” adding that, “we believe that the future success of Rough Guides will be best secured with APA Publications.” Rough Guides was reorganized, and slimmed down, at least twice in recent years, first […]

French book publisher La Martiniere Group (which also owns Abrams in the US) and French media company Media-Participations (which specializes in comics and graphic novels, but also publishes magazines, has a film/tv production arm, and a digital media group focused on videogames) announced Thursday that they are in merger discussions. Both companies are privately owned. Herve de La Martiniere said in a statement, “We are considering our options for a closer connection between our two groups, in the form of an exchange of shares. I need to think about the future of the house I founded 25 years ago.” He added, “Getting […]

Carolina Wren Press is acquiring the titles of John F. Blair, Publisher, and will relaunch the combined list in January publishing under the name Blair, distributed by Consortium. (John Blair has been winding down its own distribution arm this summer.) The Durham, NC-based nonprofit will officially change its name to Blair after the acquisition is completed. In Europe, Laurence King Publishing has acquired Dutch design publisher BIS, which will continue to be overseen by managing director Bionda Dias. LKP has also created a new German subsidiary, Laurence King Verlag, which will publish 30 titles a year from their list in German, as well […]

As planned, Pearson has sold their Global Education business — which provides English language training and test preparation for Chinese students preparing to study abroad — to privately-owned Chinese company Puxin Education. Pearson says the sale is expected to generate proceeds “in the region of $80 million.” The business has sales of £78 million and an adjusted operating loss of £4 million, and the transaction will take approximately 1,900 employees out of Pearson’s payroll. The company says the sale is part of their “strategic shift away from large-scale direct delivery services to focus on more scalable online, virtual, and blended services.” Pearson […]