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Spain's Tusquets In Buyout Deal
Herbert R. Lottman -- 5/11/98
In the Jurassic Park of the book trade, it's news when man bites dinosaur. And the word from Spain is that pocket-sized literary imprint Tusquets of Barcelona, the love child of publishers Beatriz de Moura and Antonio López Lanadrid, has bought back the 45% stake in the company sold in 1995 to billion-dollar Planeta, the Spanish-speaking world's largest trade group.
Under the terms of the original agreement, which had been designed to hoist the smaller house to a higher level of activity and allow eventual diversification, Planeta could have increased its share to 50% at the end of this year-or the junior partner could buy itself back. And, in the absence of signs of serious progress in its expansion program, this is what Tusquets chose to do. "But the amazing thing," Beatriz de Moura told PW, "is that we remain on the best of terms with our former partner [José Manuel Lara Jr., CEO of Planeta and son of the founder]."

Tusquets is best known abroad as a translating publisher, the Spanish-language imprint for the likes of John Irving, Nadine Gordimer, John Updike and Thomas Pynchon. It d sn't mind bidding for potential bestsellers, with Amy Tan and Tom Wolfe, Sue Grafton, P.D. James and Woody Allen. Following the market, it has gradually increased the ratio of Spanish originals on the list (100 titles per annum, including paperback reprints). If Planeta is Spanish America's leading publisher, Tusquets on its own is a significant player there.
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