In a deal that unites two illustrated book publishers, Insight Editions has acquired Weldon Owen from Bonnier Publishing USA for an undisclosed price.
Weldon Owen was first acquired by Bonnier Publishing USA parent company, Sweden’s Bonnier AB, in 2006. In August 2016, the company was made incorporated into the newly formed Bonnier Publishing USA as part of an effort to grow the U.S. operation into a $100 million business. Other parts of Bonnier Publishing USA include the children’s book publisher Little Bee Books and Bluestreak Books. The latter, a gift publisher, will move to Insight Editions with Weldon Owen where Bluestreak's current list will be released. At present there are no plans to add new titles.
With the sale, Weldon Owen International will become a subsidiary of Insight Editions. “The alliance of our two companies provides an ideal synergy,” said Raoul Goff, Insight’s founder and CEO, in a statement. Goff noted that Weldon Owen’s lines of cookbooks, lifestyle, children’s reference and educational titles are “a wonderful fit with Insight’s product offering.”
Roger Shaw will remain president and publisher of Weldon Owen and work with CEO Michael Madden, who is moving over from Insight Editions. In addition, John Owen, who co-founded Weldon Owen with Kevin Weldon in 1984, will return to the company with responsibility for the children’s division. Owen said he is "looking forward to helping Weldon Owen return to its roots by focusing on the children's educational category which has always been a particular passion of min."
Under Insight Editions, Weldon Owen will sharpen its focus in the areas of co-edition publishing, packaging, and custom publishing. It will also continue, selectively, to publish titles for its own imprint. The company's distributor will remain Simon & Schuster.
This article has been updated to clarify the future of Bluestreak.
