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Investment Firm in Deal with RosettaBooks
MEP Capital has made an investment in RosettaBooks in a deal that gives MEP ownership of Rosetta's e-book catalog while leaving the operation of Rosetta unchanged.
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Francisco Partners to Acquire VitalSource from Ingram
Ingram Content Group has reached a deal to sell its digital learning platform VitalSource to Francisco Partners.
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Gendell Files Counterclaim Against McGuigan in Foundry Dispute
The drama surrounding Foundry Literary + Media does not look to be ending anytime soon. The acrimonious split of the firm's former co-founders, which saw one principal file suit against the other in January, has now resulted in a legal response.
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Authors Guild Asks Members to Support PRO Act
The Authors Guild is asking its membership and allies in the publishing industry to contact their senators to express support for the PRO Act, which would extend more collective bargaining power to freelance writers and authors.
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HarperCollins to Acquire HMH Trade
The second largest trade publisher in the U.S. will buy Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books & Media, generally considered the sixth largest, for $349 million.
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BookClub Venture Prepares for Spring Launch
Scheduled to launch sometime in the spring, BookClub is a virtual book club platform driven by author-led book discussions and designed for mobile devices.
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RBMedia Acquires Spain's Booka
Audiobook company RBmedia has acquired Booka, a Barcelona-based audiobook publishing company, and its full catalog of Spanish language titles.
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Japan's Media Do Buys Firebrand
Firebrand Technologies has been acquired by Media Do International, the U.S. subsidiary of Tokyo-based Media Do Ltd., a major e-book distributor. Firebrand founder Fran Toolan will remain CEO for at least the next three years.
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Turner Publishing Buys Prospect Park Books
Turner Publishing Company has acquired Los Angeles-based Prospect Park Books. The purchase adds more than 100 titles to Turner's backlist.
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Authors Guild Asks DoJ to Stop PRH Purchase of S&S
The Authors Guild, along with five other writers’ groups and the nonprofit Open Markets Institute, has sent a letter to the Department of Justice asking the government to block Penguin Random House’s pending acquisition of Simon & Schuster.
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Book Biz Saw Little M&A in 2020, with Some Big Exceptions
Economic uncertainty limited merger and acquisition activity in the book business last year, but there were still a number of significant transactions, including Penguin Random House's planned purchase of Simon & Schuster.
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Pop Culture Veterans Launch Endpaper Entertainment
Endpaper Entertainment is a new content development company focused on producing original stories in a variety of media, formats and genres and is being led by Rich Johnson and Syndee Barwick.
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Wiley Buys Open Access Publisher for $298 Million
John Wiley has expanded its presence in the open access field with the acquisition of Hindawi, a London-based scientific research publisher of more than 200 peer-reviewed scientific, technical, and medical journals. Wiley paid $298 million for Hindawi, which had 2020 revenue of $40 million.
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Atlas Completes Purchase of America's Largest Book Printer
The private equity firm Atlas Holdings has completed its purchase of LSC Communications, the country's largest book printer, which filed for bankruptcy in April.
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Bertelsmann to Buy S&S for $2.2 Billion
Penguin Random House has agreed to acquire Simon & Schuster for $2.175 billion. The deal, which is expected to be completed next year, will combine the country's largest and third largest trade publishers.
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Deep Vellum Acquires Dalkey Archive
Deep Vellum Publishing is acquiring the assets of Dalkey Archive Press and will maintain the company as a distinct imprint, publishing new titles as well as maintaining the press's backlist.
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News Corp CEO Sees Antitrust Concerns in PRH Buy of S&S
Robert Thomson, CEO of HarperCollins parent company News Corp, said during the company's annual meeting that a purchase of Simon & Schuster by Penguin Random House "will clearly be a serious antitrust issue."
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'NYT' Says HC, PRH Top Contenders to Buy S&S
Saying that private equity firms had dropped out of the bidding, the 'New York Times' reported this morning that the country's first and second largest trade publishers—Penguin Random House and HarperCollins, respectively—were now the favorites to acquire Simon & Schuster, the country's third largest trade publisher.
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Chronicle Buys Game Brands from Wild + Wolf
Chronicle Books has acquired three toy and game brands from Wild + Wolf, a Bath, England–based gift specialist. The deal adds some 350 products to Chronicle's gift and game offerings.