In its second acquisition after gaining new ownership last year, RBmedia has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Dreamscape Media.
Founded in 2010 by Brad Rose, Dreamscape Media includes Dreamscape Publishing, which acquires, produces, and distributes audiobooks, and Dreamscape Select, which offers audiobook support services to self-published authors. The purchase is expected to be completed in this year’s third quarter, and will add more than 7,000 audiobook titles to RBmedia.
“The acquisition of Dreamscape will give RBmedia additional depth in key genres and enable us to serve a broader set of authors and publishers, said RBmedia CEO Michael Paull in a statement. In addition to its deep backlist, Dreamscape releases about 1,000 new titles annually in such categories as mystery/thriller, romance, and children’s books. Paull said that Dreamscape will become “one of RBmedia’s core audio publishing groups.”
Sean McManus, president of Dreamscape, called RBmedia and Dreamscape’s publishing businesses “highly complementary.” The company is coming off a 2023 when it reported a sales rise of almost 40% over 2022, bolstered by the launch of a new sci-fi/fantasy division, Dreamscape Lore, and new partnership agreements with Bloodhound Books, Canongate, Marvel, Mayo Clinic Press, and Storm Publishing. The company also added a host of new popular authors last year. Among the authors already using Dreamscape to release their audiobooks are Jeneva Rose, whose suspense novel The Perfect Marriage has sold more than 350,000 audiobooks, and Lisa Jewell, whose 15 titles have sold nearly 2 million audiobooks.
The deal for Dreamscape follows RBmedia’s January acquisition of Berrett-Koehler’s audiobook publishing business. Last September, the private investment firm KKR sold RBmedia to fellow private equity firms Francisco Partners and H.I.G. Capital in a deal reportedly valued at $1 billion.
