Audiobook publisher RBmedia to be sold

In the US, private equity firm KKR is selling the audiobook publisher RBmedia to investment firm H.I.G Capital, reports Publishers Weekly.

RBmedia is reportedly being sold for more than US$1 billion (A$1.5b) in a deal expected to be finalised before the end of the year. The publisher has been bought and sold a number of times by investment firms over the past decade, and was last sold to KKR in 2018 for a reported US$500 million (A$750m).

Since 2018, RBmedia has made a number of acquisitions, including the German audiobook publishers ABOD and John Verlag, and the French audiobook publisher Editions Theleme, as well as selling Audiobooks.com to Swedish streaming service Storytel. KKR said RBmedia has had five years of double-digit revenue growth, a catalogue of more than 66,000 titles, and more than 300 employees.

As previously reported, KKR is among the bidders for Simon & Schuster, which owner Paramount Global is putting up for sale after the US government blocked Penguin Random House’s acquisition last year.

Category: International news