The other interesting fact from Lagardere’s annual report merits this separate item and our congratulations on their disclosure. Reporting that ebook sales in the US rose 5.5 times during 2008, the company declared revenues–yes, actual revenues–of $4.7 million. Based on our rough estimate of Hachette Book Group’s total US sales for the year, that means that even with the exponential growth, ebooks comprised less than 0.75 percent of sales. (The conforms with Penguin USA’s recent declaration to us that, while they too experienced a nearly five-fold increase in ebook sales, it has yet to comprise one percent of revenue.) And […]
HMH Trying to Renegotiate Debt Covenants After All
Having heatedly taken issue with recent ratings downgrades by both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt parent company Education Media & Publishing is talking to its primary lenders–who hold $4.3 billion in debt–about renegotiating the terms to loosen the multiples in their covenants. As the FT reports, the notes currently require that EMP’s debt be no more than 8.75 times ebidta by March 31. The company seeks to raise that multiple to 9.95 times earnings, and wants to raise the March 2010 target from 6.5 times ebitda to a 7.45 multiple. Lenders are being offered a small fee […]
Wilson Takes New Post at Headline As Neild Prepares to Leave
Kate Wilson, who left her position as managing director of Scholastic UK without noting her next step, is taking on the newly-created post of chief executive of the Headline Publishing Group within Hachette UK. Wilson joins the company on May 5 and will report to managing director of Headline and chief executive of Hodder & Stoughton and John Murray Martin Neild–but only until Neild relinquishes his full-time job in early 2010 to become a consultant to the company. At that point, Wilson will report directly to Hachette UK ceo Tim Hely Hutchinson and Jamie Hodder-Williams will move up from managing […]
Anderson News Sues
Anderson News filed a suit against major magazine publishers and two major distribution competitors, similar to the suits filed by Source Interlink, alleging that the parties conspired to put the mass market book and magazine distributor out of business. Separately, in the suit filed by four major book publishers to put Anderson into involuntary bankruptcy, a Delaware judge denied a request yesterday to appoint an interim trustee of Anderson News’ assets.Knoxville News Sentinel
Clinton: "A Noble Profession"
Bill Clinton at the end of his 45-minute talk at the AAP annual meeting returned to the primacy of books: “We need them for persepctive; facts are not enough…. You ought to feel that you are in a noble profession. You ought to pollute it as a little as you can and make some money…. I don’t care what will happen with technology, we’ll all still need to read.”
Layoffs At National Geographic
National Geographic eliminated nine jobs in their book division last week “as part of the organization’s response to the evolving marketplace.” Among those leaving are publisher Kevin Mulroy, director of photography books Leah Bendavid-Val, and director of travel publishing Symmie Newhouse. As part of the reorganization, Barbara Brownell Grogan was named vp and editor-in-chief for adult books. And Melina Bellows has been promoted to evp of Children’s Publishing. VP of children’s books Nancy Feresten will report to Bellows, who in turn reports to National Geographic Publishing president John Griffin. VP for communications MJ Jacobsen tells us “the move was a […]