Almost two weeks after the planned acquisition of Perseus Books Group by Hachette and Ingram fell apart, Perseus CEO David Steinberger sent a letter to Legato Publishers Group’s 24 client-publishers informing them that Mark Suchomel will officially resume his position at the helm of the boutique distribution company.
On July 24, Ingram Publishing Services general manager Mark Ouimet informed Legato’s publishers that Suchomel was leaving the company he had founded in 2013, and that Legato would be folded into PGW after the sale was completed.
Now, Legato will continue as a separate client services division of Perseus. It will also, according to Steinberger’s letter, continue as an affiliate of PGW. Furthermore, Jeff Tegge will remain as v-p of sales at Legato.
“Mark and Jeff have delivered on their promise, not only to our company, but to our clients,” Steinberger wrote in his August 18 letter.
He continued: "Over the past year we have built a successful business comprised of 24 outstanding independent publishers under the Legato brand. This is thanks to the hard work and dedication of both the Legato and PGW teams, as well as the Perseus sales force and many other Perseus employees. This success was highlighted in many recent conversations that we have had with our Legato clients and Perseus employees. Going forward, we will continue to explore and expand ways in which PGW and Legato can partner with each other to provide the best possible service to our Legato clients.”
