TIDMBMY
RNS Number : 6090A
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
02 June 2021
BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING PLC
("Bloomsbury" or "the Company")
Bloomsbury acquisition strengthens Consumer division:
Acquisition of Head of Zeus Limited
2 June 2021
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (LSE: BMY), the leading independent
publisher, today announces that it has completed the acquisition of
the issued share capital of Head of Zeus Limited ("Head of Zeus",
"HoZ" or the "Acquisition"). The total valuation is GBP8.45
million, including payments of pre-existing loans. The
consideration, net of pre-existing loans, is GBP7.35 million, of
which GBP5.5 million will be satisfied in cash at completion, with
GBP1.1 million payable in cash post completion, subject to working
capital and other considerations, and GBP0.75 million of deferred
consideration payable in cash subject to achievement of revenue,
profit and Netflix release targets.
Head of Zeus is an independent publisher of genre fiction and
narrative non-fiction and children's books, based in London. It has
published many bestsellers, won literary prizes and industry
awards. Its best-selling authors include Dan Jones, Cixin Liu,
Victoria Hislop, and Lesley Thomson, and Elodie Harper, whose The
Wolf Den went last week to number 5 in The Times bestseller list.
Cixin Liu's bestselling science fiction trilogy, The Three-Body
Problem, is being adapted for Netflix by David Benioff and D.B.
Weiss, creators of HBO's Game of Thrones.
This acquisition will provide a strong addition to Bloomsbury's
thriving Consumer division and support our long term Consumer
growth strategy, with new high quality authors and effective
publishing across all formats, including e-book and audio.
HoZ generated GBP8.6 million* of revenue in the year ended 31
December 2020, and profit before tax of GBP0.3 million*, with net
assets of GBP4.6 million*.
Nigel Newton, Chief Executive of Bloomsbury, commented:
"Head of Zeus's entrepreneurial and innovative approach to
publishing, and its wide range of trade titles, will make a strong
addition to Bloomsbury's own. Bloomsbury will be able to provide
the scale and digital platforms to boost Head of Zeus' success
while operating as an independent imprint within the Bloomsbury
Consumer division. We look forward to welcoming Head of Zeus' great
authors and talented staff to Bloomsbury and working with them in
the years to come."
Anthony Cheetham, Chairman, Head of Zeus commented:
"After nine vigorous years as an independent publisher, I
believe that Head of Zeus, our authors, our staff and our
shareholders have found the right long term home for our company
with Bloomsbury.
I have known Nigel Newton for more than thirty years. We share
many of the same values: creative publishing, unique content and
beautiful books. And an entrepreneurial spirit that values
innovation above conformity. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc is itself
unique as the only British book publisher listed on the London
Stock Exchange.
I would like to express my gratitude to all our stakeholders for
their support since Head of Zeus was launched in 2012, and my
thanks to Bloomsbury for opening the door to further growth and
opportunity in the years ahead."
*Audited.
For further information, please contact:
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Nigel Newton, Chief Executive nigel.newton@bloomsbury.com
Penny Scott-Bayfield, Group penny.scott-bayfield@bloomsbury.com
Finance Director
Hudson Sandler +44 (0) 20 7796 4133
Dan de Belder / Rebekah Chapman bloomsbury@hudsonsandler.com
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it
forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union
(Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is disclosed in accordance with
the company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR .
The information in this announcement has not been audited or
otherwise independently verified and no representation or warranty,
express or implied, is made as to, and no reliance should be placed
on, the fairness, accuracy, completeness or correctness of the
information or opinions contained herein. None of the Company or
any of its affiliates, advisors or representatives shall have any
liability whatsoever (in negligence or otherwise) for any loss
whatsoever arising from any use of this announcement, or its
contents, or otherwise arising in connection with this
announcement.
This announcement does not constitute or form part of any offer
or invitation to sell, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase
any shares in the Company, nor shall it or any part of it or the
fact of its distribution form the basis of, or be relied on in
connection with, any contract or commitment or investment decisions
relating thereto, nor does it constitute a recommendation regarding
the shares of the Company.
Certain statements, statistics and projections in this
announcement are or may be forward looking. By their nature,
forward--looking statements involve a number of risks,
uncertainties or assumptions that may or may not occur and actual
results or events may differ materially from those expressed or
implied by the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, no
assurance can be given that any particular expectation will be met
and reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statement.
Accordingly, forward-looking statements contained in this
announcement regarding past trends or activities should not be
taken as representation that such trends or activities will
continue in the future. You should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements, which are based on the knowledge and
information available only at the date of this announcement's
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The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or keep
current the information contained in this announcement, including
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which may become apparent and any opinions expressed in it are
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END
ACQUUAARAOUNRAR
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 02, 2021 07:17 ET (11:17 GMT)
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