Time Warner Books has finally found a buyer.
The French publishing giant Lagardere has agreed to buy the Time Warner Book Group, the nation’s fifth-largest book publisher, for $537.5 million.
Lagardere executives said that the deal represents a major step to create a balanced publishing portfolio in three languages – French, Spanish and English.
“If you want to be a major player in English-language publishing – and they clearly do – then you have to be in the United States,” said Jim Milliot, the business and finance editor of Publishers Weekly.
Time Warner Books owns the 150-year-old Little Brown imprint, Warner Books and an audio book imprint with operations in the U.S., Britain, Australia and New Zealand.
Time Warner first put the unit on the block in 2003.
Talks with at least two potential suitors – Bertelsmann, owner of Random House, and Perseus Books – broke down over price and other complications. Time Warner at the time was hoping to attract bids in the $400 million to $500 million range, but bids were said to be just over $300 million.
In June 2003 that auction was called off for good. The move to finally sell the company that publishes Jon Stewart, Nelson DeMille, James Patterson, David Baldacci, Michael Connelly, Alice Seybold, and Pete Hamill was still considered a surprise. Insiders said they expect to see few immediate changes when the deal is finalized in six to eight weeks. David Young, who took over as chairman and CEO in November is expected to stay on board under the new owners.
He will report to the Paris-based Arnaud Nourry, the president and CEO of Lagardere Book Publishing.
Lagardere boss Arnaud Lagardere said the acquisition is “an ambitious strategic move for our book-publishing operations.”
PW’s Milliot said, “They are buying the company when it is on a hot streak. The question is: Can they keep the hot streak going?”
Larry Kirshbaum, former Time Warner Books chairman said, “This is a great beachhead for Lagardere to take America by storm.”
Since the French have no existing publishing operations here, there is little immediate fear of layoffs or consolidations.
Lagardere also owns the Hachette Filipacchi Media group here, which publishes Elle, Car & Driver, Road and Track and Woman’s Day.
The deal is expected to do little to appease corporate raider Carl Icahn, who wants to break up Time Warner.