Brumby completes Bookwise acquisition
The sale of Bookwise to Brumby Holdings was completed on 1 May. ‘We are pleased that Bookwise is now back in Australian ownership,' said Gary Cobbledick, managing director of Brumby...
Pearson buys Harcourt
As reported in a WBN special bulletin on Monday, Pearson has acquired Harcourt Education International and Harcourt Assessment from parent company Reed Elsevier for a reported US$950 million (A$1.1 billion)....
Brumby to buy Bookwise
Brumby Books and Music has signed a ‘conditional contract' to purchase fellow distributor Bookwise International. Under the deal--reportedly worth over $450,000--Bookwise will remain in Adelaide with all of its current staff,...
Myer to take on four Harris Scarfe stores
Department store Myer is to take over four stores from its competitor Harris Scarfe, following a takeover of the troubled South Australian-based retail chain. The $80 million takeover was led...
B&T’s AMS purchase excludes Bookwise
Advanced Marketing Services (AMS), US-based parent company of the Australian distributor Bookwise, has reached an agreement with US wholesaler Baker & Taylor (B&T) on the sale of certain AMS assets. However,...
Random acquires Virgin Books
Random House has struck a deal with Sir Richard Branson to acquire 90% of his publishing imprint Virgin Books.The agreement includes a five-book deal for Branson and his retaining 10%...
Reed to sell Harcourt Ed
Reed Elsevier has announced it is looking for a buyer for Harcourt Education, which has operations in Australia and New Zealand as well as in the UK, US and South...
Baker & Taylor to buy AMS?
Advanced Marketing Services (AMS), the US-based parent company of Australian distributor Bookwise, has entered into a letter of agreement with book distributor Baker & Taylor to allow B&T to purchase the...
Pearson subject of private-equity takeover?
Speculation has been mounting in recent weeks over a possible takeover bid for Pearson, parent company of Penguin and Pearson Education. A Reuters report on 17 January 2007 noted that...
Cambridge Information Group acquires ProQuest
The Cambridge Information Group (CIG), parent company of library resource provider CSA (and of WBN's publisher Thorpe-Bowker), has announced the finalisation of its acquisition of ProQuest Information and Learning. The...
Profile buys Serpent?s Tail
Independent UK publisher Profile Books has bought fellow independent publisher Serpent's Tail for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition will add fiction to Profile's list. ‘This is one of the great...
Reader’s Digest Australia unaffected by sale
Following last week's announcement that an investor group led by Ripplewood Holdings had agreed to acquire Reader's Digest, managing director of Reader's Digest Australia Paul Heath told WBN it was...
Reader’s Digest to be sold
A group of investors led by Ripplewood Holdings has agreed to acquire Reader's Digest (RDA), subject to shareholder approval, in a sale expected to close in the first quarter of...
Footprint buys Astam
Footprint Books has acquired fellow distributor Astam Books. From 7 December 2006, most publishers’ lists that were available from Astam Books will be distributed by Footprint Books, including MIT Press,...
John Wiley & Sons acquires Blackwell Publishing
As reported in a WBN Special Bulletin on Monday, John Wiley & Sons has entered into a ‘definitive agreement' to buy Blackwell Publishing, at a cost of £572 million (A$1.35...
Wiley buys Blackwell
John Wiley & Sons has entered into a ‘definitive agreement' to buy Blackwell Publishing, at a cost of £572 million (A$1.35 billion).The acquisition will significantly increase Wiley's share of the...