Mergers & Acquisitions

In a deal that involves more than 500 titles, Turner Publishing has acquired West Margin Press from the Ingram Content Group.

Landover, Md.-based audiobook publisher RBmedia has continued its push in the international market with the acquisition of John Verlag’s German-language audiobook catalog.

HarperCollins has acquired Maine independent publisher Cider Mill Press. Cider Mill will become part of the HarperCollins Focus group.

Rowman & Littlefield has acquired the adult division of Maine's Tilbury House Publishers in a deal that adds 70 regional titles to R&L's list.

With the employee acquisition of the 50% stake in the publisher it did not already own, Gibbs Smith is now a 100% ESOP.

Scholastic has acquired Learning Ovations, the creator of A2i (Assessment to Instruction)—a literacy screening, progress monitoring and assessment, and instructional planning system for classrooms and community organizations.

Mudita Venture Partners has made an unspecified investment in the hybrid publisher Amplify Publishing Group. Launched in 2003, Amplify publishes about 300 titles annually.

Effective immediately, Rowman & Littlefield will produce, distribute, sell, and market books from Brookings Institute Press, while Brookings will continue to oversee acquisitions and editorial review of BIP's titles.

As part of its expansion into the education market with the launch of DK Learning in April, DK has acquired Phonics Books, a publisher of more than 300 decodable books for beginner and catch-up readers.

The digital publisher Podium Audio has acquired Bookstat, the data subscription service that tracks online book purchases in physical, e-book, and audiobook formats.