[ PW Home ] [ Bestsellers ] [ Subscribe ] [ Search ]
|
| |
 | News |
Small Publisher Deals Continue
-- 8/31/98
The beat of small publisher acquisitions continues to go forward. On the heels of Rowman &Littlefield's purchase of five companies, two other small publishers have announced deals. Merritt Publishing has sold its assets to two different companies, while Howell Press has made two acquisitions.
The Santa Monica, Calif.-based Merritt has sold most of its assets-more than 200 training titles and reference manuals for the insurance, safety and security industries -- to Examco Inc. According to Examco president Brantley Houston, the company will make Merritt's materials available in computer-based formats, as well as through the Internet.
In a second transaction, Merritt sold its consumer book lines to Silver Lake Publishing. Silver Lake, based in Los Angeles, was formed by James Walsh, the head of Merritt's consumer publishing division, to acquire Merritt's 31 backlist titles.
Silver Lake has three primary lines devoted to the consumer market -- personal finance, small business management and consumer reference -- and will add a fourth line, risk theory and popular economics. First titles under the Silver Lake imprint will be out this fall.
Silver Lake's titles are distributed to bookstores through NBN, and the company also distributes its books through catalogue marketers and trade organizations such as the Risk and Insurance Management Society.
On the East Coast, Howell Press of Charlottesville, Va., has acquired the 120-title backlist from EPM Publications for an undisclosed amount. EPM was founded 25 years ago by Evelyn P. Metzger, who, as a Washington, D.C.-based editor for Doubleday, played a major role in the publication of Advise and Consent.
According to Howell Press president Ross Howell Jr., the company will retain the EPM brand on titles where the company has developed a reputation, such as regional travel books, titles on the Washington area, plus craft and Civil War books. Powell said he is working on a way for Metzger to play a continuing role with the company.
Earlier this year, Howell acquired Rockbridge Publications, the small Civil War publisher. Its founder, Katherine Teenery, will continue to develop about four titles per year.
Howell told PW that his company is having an extremely strong year, with sales up about 40%, although Howell admits he's not sure why sales have shot up so much. The company focuses on history, transportation, gardening and cooking. It d s its own distribution and has a number of distribution clients, including several from overseas. With a backlist of more than 200 titles (a number that excludes EPM, but includes its distribution clients) "backlist is the engine that drives our company," Howell observed.
Back To News
---> |
Search | Bestsellers | News | Features | Children's Books | Bookselling
Interview | Industry Update | International | Classifieds | Authors On the Highway
About PW | Subscribe
|
Copyright 2000. Publishers Weekly. All rights reserved.
|
