Bloomsbury Publishing has completed its acquisition of Fairchild Books. The New York-based Fairchild, which specializes in educational material and textbooks for fashion students, has been distributed (outside of North America) by Bloomsbury's Berg imprint since 2006. The acquisition of Fairchild will add to Bloomsbury's expanding presence in the arena of fashion publishing, following, among other things, the acquisition of Berg Publishers in 2008 and the subsequent launch of the Berg Fashion Library.
In a statement about the purchase, Bloomsbury said: "Fairchild’s renown as a textbook publisher will create synergies with complementary products published under the Berg imprint that are aimed at more advanced students and researchers, but are sold to the same institutions. The combined business provides significant opportunities for new digital initiatives." Bloomsbury's chief exevutive, Nigel Newton, added that this deal is "part of Bloomsbury’s long term strategy to increase its academic publishing turnover in the USA, the largest market for English language textbooks."
Karthryn Earle will oversee Fairchild Books and report to Jonathan Glasspool, managing director of Bloomsbury's academic and professional division.
