Book Manufacturers’ Institute Releases Industry Barometer Survey Results for June

John Wiley and Sons Inc., announced its partnership with The Australasian Medical Publishing Company Pty Ltd (AMPCo) to publish the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA). The MJA is produced by AMPCo, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) — the most influential membership organisation representing registered medical practitioners and medical students of Australia. In the top 20 general medical journals globally, the MJA is the leading general medical journal in the Asia–Pacific region. The MJA covers issues surrounding Australian health care, clinical research and practices and developments within medicine. Wiley will assume online publishing and distribution responsibilities in January 2019. The partnership will provide institutional customers with access to the MJA via the Wiley Online Library platform. Click Read More below for additional information.

German media giant Bertelsmann said Wednesday that its Penguin Random House division is buying rival Simon & Schuster in a megadeal that would reshape the U.S. publishing industry. Penguin Random House, already the largest American publisher, will buy the New York-based Simon & Schuster, whose authors include Stephen King, Hillary Clinton and John Irving, from TV and film company ViacomCBS for $2.17 billion in cash. “Simon & Schuster strengthens Bertelsmann’s footprint globally, and (particularly) in the U.S., its second-largest market,” the Guetersloh, Germany-based company said in a statement. The purchase of Simon & Schuster would reduce the so-called Big Five of American publishing — which also includes HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group and Macmillan — to four.

The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. announced that it has received a signed letter of intent from an investor group composed of DW Partners, Namdar Realty Group and Washington Prime Group, pursuant to which the investor group proposes to acquire the Company as a going concern in a Bankruptcy Court-supervised sale process. The Company and the investor group are in the process of finalizing an asset purchase agreement in advance of an auction, which is now scheduled to be held on April 16, 2018. Bon-Ton is continuing to operate in the ordinary course as the Company completes its court-supervised restructuring process. Bon-Ton was required to provide notification under certain state and federal laws of potential job losses even as it works to complete a sale of the Company as a going concern, and is hopeful the sale process will preserve jobs. The Company's stores remain open and are continuing to serve customers. Click Read More below for additional information.