Millbrook Press has reached a preliminary agreement to sell its Roaring Brook Press trade imprint to Holtzbrinck Publishers. Millbrook began looking for a buyer for Roaring Brook shortly after it filed for bankruptcy in February, and the agreement must still be approved by the bankruptcy court. Until the parties receive court approval, other companies will be given a chance to participate in an auction. If a higher bid is not submitted, the companies hope to close the deal by late April.
If the deal goes forward, Holtzbrinck will make Roaring Brook a division affiliated with its Henry Holt subsidiary. Plans call for Holtzbrinck to retain Roaring Brook's existing publishing, editorial and marketing staffs, which will continue to operate out of the publisher's Brookfield, Conn., offices. Simon Boughton, publisher of Roaring Brook, will report to John Sterling, president and publisher of Holt.
The addition of Roaring Brook will add about $3 million in sales to Holt as well as a backlist of 65 quality hardcover titles, including two Caldecott winners, The Man Who Walked Between the Towers and My Friend Rabbit. Plans call for Roaring Brook to publish 35—40 books a year.
Millbrook is still looking for buyers for its library imprints, Millbrook and Twenty-First Century Books.
