Mergers & Acquisitions

New Leaf Publishing Group, a Green Forest, Ark .-based Christian publisher of homeschool curriculum as well as print, digital, audio books for the trade, has been acquired by a group of investors.

Rebel Girls, the media company whose mission is to instill confidence in girls, raised $8 million in a new funding round, with Penguin Random House its lead investor.

The steady pace of acquisitions in the printing world continued this week with the announcements of CJK Group's purchase of McNaughton & Gunn and BR Printers' acquisition of JP Graphics.

As part of its effort to deepen its backlist, the Washington, D.C.–based conservative publisher has acquired the ISI Books imprint from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, a conservative higher education nonprofit.

One of the few remaining distributors specializing in distributing independent publishers has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help underwrite a plan to close a warehouse, partner with other distributors, and more.

Paramount executives have made no secret of their intention to sell Simon & Schuster following the failed sale to Penguin Random House. A new story published by Reuters confirms that Paramount is working with a financial adviser and looking to sell the publisher for between $2.0 billion and $2.5 billion.

The CJK Group continues to add more printing and publishing services companies to its portfolio with its acquisition of the assets of Allen Press.

The Hollywood talent agency is further expanding its presence in book publishing with the acquisition of the independent literary agency Fletcher & Co. After buying U.K.-based agency Curtis Brown in June 2022, the acquisition will see UTA add 12 full-time staffers to its publishing division.

While big deals dominated publishing acquisition activity in 2021—led by Clarivate buying ProQuest for $5.3 billion—acquisitions in 2022 were more a mix of private equity and niche purchases.

At a UBS media conference earlier this week, Bob Bakish, CEO of Simon & Schuster parent company Paramount Global, said that with the sale to Penguin Random House now dead, the company still plans to divest the publisher, though he didn’t say how or when.