After parent company Harenberg filed for bankruptcy in December, it ceased operations at the beginning of January, taking German book industry magazine Buchreport with it. The magazine notes, “Buchreport no longer provides you and the book industry with news, analyzes and statistics, bestseller lists and best practices, and no longer offers a look over the fence at other book markets and general developments that also influence this particular industry. Maybe you will miss one or two things?” Buchreport had compiled bestseller lists for Der Spiegel news magazine since 1971. In a separate release, Spiegel announced that their bestseller lists will […]
International News
Buchreport For Sale As Publisher Files for Bankruptcy
Harenberg, the publisher of German trade magazine Buchreport, has filed for bankruptcy and is putting the magazine up for sale. On Tuesday, the Buchreport itself reported that the publisher has already been in talks with potential buyers, and that “business operations will continue until further notice.” Harenberg also compiles the bestseller list that appears in Germany’s premier news magazine Der Spiegel. Buchreport notes that Harenberg is “directly and indirectly affected by the imbalance of the entire Busch Glatz Group,” the media company that owns Harenberg and is run by Timo Busch. Many of the organization’s other brands are also filing […]
Leaver Unveils New Publishing Group
Marcus Leaver has announced the launch of his new company, Gemini Books Group. The goal is to “build a publishing business focused on the UK and North American markets through the acquisition of established companies and by incubating start-up businesses in scalable areas of the market.” Gemini has acquired Imagine That!, Palazzo Editions, Ad Lib Publishers, Mardle Books and Pimpernel Press. Managing director of Palazzo and Mardle Jon Rippon serves as group finance director of Gemini and sits on the board. Leaver says in the announcement, “I look forward to working with Jon to build a publishing business where we […]
Quarto to Go Private
As we suggested well over a year ago, there has been little reason for Quarto Publishing to continue operating as a publicly traded company on the London Stock Exchange — and on Thursday morning, the company announced a plan to go private. CK Lau and his Honk Kong-based company 1010 Printing Limited already have a controlling 50.08 percent stake in Quarto, with lead minority investor Andrea Giunti Lombardo owning 22.34 percent. The stock trades very lightly, and fell substantially at the end of August when Quarto reported a 16 percent decline in sales for the first six months of their […]
Vivendi Finalizes Takeover of Lagardere
Following a second promised sale (of Gala magazine to Groupe Figaro), Vivendi announced Tuesday that it has officially closed its deal for a controlling interest in Lagardere. Vivendi’s executives say in the announcement, “As we do for all our businesses, while preserving its integrity, we will support Lagardère in its development and the transformation of its businesses. Together, we will strengthen our international presence in the fields of creation, content and distribution. We are delighted to start a fruitful collaboration, bringing all our activities to new heights.” Vivendi owns 60 percent of Lagardere stock, and just over 50 percent of […]
Sourcebooks and PRH Form Callisto China
Sourcebooks has joined with the Penguin Random House North Asia office to create Callisto China. The new line will publish a selection of Callisto’s titles in the local language. When PRH acquired Callisto’s assets in May in a Sourcebooks-led deal, Sourcebooks ceo Dominique Raccah identified international expansion as a clear growth opportunity. She says in the announcement, “Callisto has developed an extraordinary line of books which have never had exposure to an international audience. This new collaborative partnership with PRH North Asia brings Callisto to the Chinese market in a really comprehensive way.” PRH North Asia already distributes Sourcebooks and […]