Mergers & Acquisitions

Audiobook company RBmedia has acquired Booka, a Barcelona-based audiobook publishing company, and its full catalog of Spanish language titles.

Firebrand Technologies has been acquired by Media Do International, the U.S. subsidiary of Tokyo-based Media Do Ltd., a major e-book distributor. Firebrand founder Fran Toolan will remain CEO for at least the next three years.

Turner Publishing Company has acquired Los Angeles-based Prospect Park Books. The purchase adds more than 100 titles to Turner's backlist.

The Authors Guild, along with five other writers’ groups and the nonprofit Open Markets Institute, has sent a letter to the Department of Justice asking the government to block Penguin Random House’s pending acquisition of Simon & Schuster.

Economic uncertainty limited merger and acquisition activity in the book business last year, but there were still a number of significant transactions, including Penguin Random House's planned purchase of Simon & Schuster.

Endpaper Entertainment is a new content development company focused on producing original stories in a variety of media, formats and genres and is being led by Rich Johnson and Syndee Barwick.

John Wiley has expanded its presence in the open access field with the acquisition of Hindawi, a London-based scientific research publisher of more than 200 peer-reviewed scientific, technical, and medical journals. Wiley paid $298 million for Hindawi, which had 2020 revenue of $40 million.

The private equity firm Atlas Holdings has completed its purchase of LSC Communications, the country's largest book printer, which filed for bankruptcy in April.

Penguin Random House has agreed to acquire Simon & Schuster for $2.175 billion. The deal, which is expected to be completed next year, will combine the country's largest and third largest trade publishers.

Deep Vellum Publishing is acquiring the assets of Dalkey Archive Press and will maintain the company as a distinct imprint, publishing new titles as well as maintaining the press's backlist.