The AP has obtained a letter to Direct Group employees from Bertelsmann chief executive Hartmut Ostrowksi that admits “we have decided to initiate the sale process for our [book and music club] businesses” in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, plus the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Flanders (Flemish-language in Belgium), Poland, Russia, Slovakia and […]
Book Clubs
A Buyer for Direct Group NA
The answer to the question “who would want to buy that?” Phoenix-based investment firm Najafi Companies has bought Bertelsmann’s North American Direct Group assets, which include their family of book clubs along with Columbia House. The sale is expected to close in the third quarter and financial terms were not disclosed. (It was subsequently revealed […]
Papers Say Direct Group France Sale Planned
Le Figaro and Les Echos have reported that Bertelsmann is working with Morgan Stanley to elicit offers for the Direct Group France division, which comprises both book clubs and the France Loisirs bookstore chain. One paper estimates the group could sell for 300 million euros, and the business newspaper says the sale could begin in […]
Bertelsmann Makes China Pullback Official
Following previous reports in the Chinese press, Bertelsmann officially announced the termination of its book club business in China on July 3. That decision came two weeks after the announced closure of all of the company’s 36 franchised retail bookstore chains in 18 cities in China. A Chinese analyst tells Interfax: “Chinese customers are more […]