MEP Capital has made an investment in RosettaBooks in a deal that gives MEP ownership of Rosetta's e-book catalog while leaving operations at Rosetta unchanged. The deal is similar in nature to a firm acquiring the rights to a musician's catalog.
Arthur Klebanoff, founding publisher and CEO of Rosetta, will continue to oversee all parts of the company, including the frontlist trade program distributed by Simon & Schuster and the backlist e-book catalog that MEP Capital has backed. Michelle Weyenberg remains director of marketing, and Emily Proano continues as distribution manager. "Authors will see no change in how things are operated," Klebanoff said.
The financial support of MEP will allow Rosetta to expand marketing efforts for its e-book catalog and make selective acquisitions of e-book titles. Observing that there are far fewer e-book rights for sale than when he started Rosetta in 2001, Klebanoff said that some opportunities still exist, pointing to plans to release a couple of new Winston Churchill e-books. The Rosetta backlist now comprises more than 700 e-books, including titles by authors ranging from Ray Bradbury to Winston Churchill.
“We see RosettaBooks as a trailblazer in rights management in the e-book publishing world, and are happy to be working with them," said Andrew Kotliar, partner at MEP Capital. The company invests in various intellectual property opportunities, and has made investments in companies working in such areas as music, film and television, and digital media.
Klebanoff said Rosetta will continue publishing new print titles, primarily in the area of business thought leadership, and will also continue publishing titles for the Mayo Clinic.
Rosetta was advised on the deal by the boutique investment bank Sonenshine Partners and the media law firm Franklin Weinrib Rudell & Vassallo. Marshall Sonenshine, chairman of Sonenshine Partners, serves as chairman of RosettaBooks, and was a founding partner at the publisher, along with Klebanoff and Rafael Pastor, a media CEO and investor.
