The management and staff of Veen Bosch & Keuning Publishing Group, a major publisher of trade books in the Netherlands and Belgium, will take over ownership of the company November 1. The house has been owned by NDC|VBK Publishing Group.
Wiet de Bruijn, CEO and general director of VBK said: “VBK’s independence is good news for all who love books and magazines. It is a logical step for us since a publisher’s character thrives on independence. As an independent company owned by management and employees we will enjoy stability and will bring a publisher’s perspective to our endeavors.”
VBK includes prominent fiction and nonfiction publishers in the Netherlands and Belgium. Among its long list of Dutch and international authors are, Rhonda Byrne, R.J. Ellory, Malcolm Gladwell, Stephen King, Jeff Kinney, John Le Carré, Geert Mak, Haruki Murakami, Saskia Noort, Barack Obama, Jamie Oliver, Salman Rushdie and Jonathan Safran Foer.
A portion of the financing of the transaction will be supplied by ING Bank, which will hold a minority interest in the firm.
