As we wrote last night (a couple of times), Wall Street views Liberty Media’s offer of $17 a share for Barnes & Noble as the opening price, not the price at which a transaction will close. Shares rose past that point by the close of the after-market last night at 8:00 and opened regular trading this morning at more than $18 a share. A number of factors are driving the share price now–some having to do with revised assessments of Barnes & Noble’s value now that someone else wants to go steady, and some relating to technical trading factors. Despite […]
Random Children’s Adds Two Imprints, and More
Random House Children’s is getting two more paperback imprints for middle-grade and YA books: Ember, for bestsellers and award winners, and Bluefire for “beloved fantasy novels.” In distribution news, Harper Canada will handle sales, marketing, and distribution of Pan Macmillan UK‘s titles in Canada as of June 1. The British publisher had been with the now-bankrupt H.B. Fenn.
The BEA 2011 Party Planner
In keeping with our tradition, here is an overview of the known BEA after-hours celebrants and events so far. If your event is not listed, that means you didn’t let us know–send an e-mail and we’ll update as appropriate. Congratulations and best wishes to all for successful gatherings. Monday, May 23 Jerusalem Book Fair Fellows and Friends Cocktail Party 5:30 – 7:30 Upper East Side Electric Literature and Flavorpill with Harper Perennial Le Bain, The Standard Hotel rooftop (limited capacity; first-come, first-served) 6:00 – 10:00 Young to Publishing: BEA On A Boat, II The Frying Pan Pier 66 at […]
Liberty Media Offers to Buy Barnes & Noble
After an investigation of strategic options begun by Barnes & Noble’s board last summer, today after the close of the market the company announced an offer from a prospective buyer. The special committee of the board charged with evaluating offers said that John Malone’s Liberty Media has offered $17 per share in cash to acquire control of the company. But “the proposal states that it is contingent on the participation of founding chairman Leonard Riggio, both in terms of his continuing equity ownership and his continuing role in management.” The committee says it “will evaluate this proposal” along with financial […]
People, Etc.
Kate Elton will join HarperCollins UK as publisher of Harper Fiction, replacing Lynne Drew, who is giving up the position for personal reasons (though she will continue to edit select authors.) Elton spent the past 15 years at Random House UK, where she was publisher of Cornerstone’s Arrow and Century imprints. Larry Bennett has joined Bookmasters as president of its international sales division, focusing on growing the company’s foreign-language book development and distribution efforts in the US and abroad. Previously he managed Baker & Taylor’s digital print media program. PEN American Center has announced a new award for picture book […]
As Expected, eBooks Slide to 17 Percent of Sales In March As Trade Rebounds, But E Is Now Amazon’s Top Format
Monthly ebook sales as measured by the AAP from 14 reporting publishers ebbed in March–which we were expecting–more or less on par with the second-biggest ebook sales month on record (January 2011), at $69 million. That puts ebooks behind adult trade hardcover and trade paperbacks for the month, and they comprised less than 17 percent of all trade sales for March. Why was a pullback from February’s $90.3 million expected? For starters, March is when Random House moved to the agency model, which means their ebook receipts should have declined, all things being equal. Just as important, recent quarterly earnings […]