Bloomsbury acquires RLPG’s US academic publishing business

UK-based Bloomsbury Publishing has acquired the academic publishing business of US publisher Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group (RLPG), reports Publishers Weekly (PW).

The purchase—for US$83 million (A$125.5m)—marks the biggest acquisition by Bloomsbury to date, according to PW, which also reported that Bloomsbury ‘paid a sales multiple of 2.2 times RLPG’s 2023 professional/academic revenue’ of US$36 million (A$54m), and a multiple of nearly 14 times RLPG’s US$6 million (A$9m) earnings in the category last year.

The acquisition adds over 40,000 academic titles on the subjects of arts, humanities, and social sciences, including business and psychology titles, bringing Bloomsbury’s total number of academic titles to around 97,000. It does not include RLPG’s trade publishing arm, Globe Pequot, with the exceptions of the drama and theatre imprint Applause and music imprint Backbeat.

Bloomsbury CEO Nigel Newton said the purchase was a ‘game-changer’. It comes after Bloomsbury results for the year ended 29 February showed the company achieving its highest revenue and profit in its 37-year history, but also showed sales in its academic and professional business fell 4%.

Category: International news