OverDrive acquires RBmedia’s library business

Library provider OverDrive has announced it is acquiring RBmedia’s library business. The deal will see OverDrive acquire the RBdigital platform in the UK, US and Australia. RBmedia’s other businesses, including its publishing brands, are not being acquired.

RBmedia has a catalogue of more than 45,000 audiobook titles from imprints that include Australian audiobook provider Wavesound. The deal will make those audiobooks available to OverDrive’s platform.

Hayley Tomlinson from Wavesound told Books+Publishing the acquisition ‘won’t have any impact on Wavesound’s publishing program’, and will ‘greatly expand our library distribution for our content’.

Steve Potash, founder and CEO of OverDrive, said: ‘Combining the RBdigital library business with OverDrive’s industry-leading technologies will greatly benefit libraries and their readers worldwide. We’re proud to enhance our value proposition for libraries by delighting readers with this new content on the award-winning Libby and Sora reading apps.’

The acquisition comes after investment firm KKR—which owns RBmedia—completed its purchase of OverDrive earlier this month.

Category: Local news