1st May 2018 09:51
LONDON (Alliance News) - Bloomsbury Publishing PLC said Tuesday it acquired academic publishing firm IBT Tauris & Co Ltd for GBP5.8 million in cash.
Harry Potter-publisher Bloomsbury will pay an initial GBP4.8 million in cash on completion for Tauris. The remaining GBP1.0 million will be paid post-completion subject to working capital and other adjustments.
Tauris - which specialises in middle east studies, history, politics and international relations - publishes around 200 titles annually and had a back-list of around 4,000 titles.
Around 90% of its current sales are in print which provides Bloomsbury with a "significant" opportunity to grow digital revenue. Tauris titles will be included within Bloomsbury's current digital resources and will operate within its academic & professional division.
In 2017, Tauris generated GBP4.3 million in revenue. Bloomsbury expects Tauris to make a small profit in its first year before reorganisation and acquisition costs. It is expected to be earnings enhancing thereafter.
For the year ended February 2017, Bloomsbury generated GBP9.4 million pretax profit on revenue of GBP142.6 million.
"The acquisition of IBT consolidates our significant presence in humanities and social science academic publishing," Bloomsbury Chief Executive Officer Nigel Newton said. "IBT's complementary lists have good growth potential, especially with their inclusion within Bloomsbury's Digital Resources strategy. This acquisition represents another key step in our strategy to continue to grow quality recurring revenues through our digital resource offering."
Shares in Bloomsbury Publishing were 1.3% higher at 179.33 pence on Tuesday.
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