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Bloomsbury has acquired California-based academic publisher ABC-CLIO in a $22.9m (£17.3m) deal, expanding its academic and digital publishing presence in North America.
Located in Santa Barbara, the publisher produces a range of reference, non-fiction, online curriculum and professional development materials in both print and digital formats for schools, academic libraries and public libraries, primarily in the US.
Of the total acquisition sum, $22.3m (£16.8m) has been satisfied in cash on completion and up to $0.6m (£0.5m) will be satisfied in cash post completion.
ABC-CLIO has four imprints and 32 databases that provide curriculum-aligned content and lesson plans, with more than 23,000 titles in its portfolio. The company generated revenue of $14.7m (£11.5m) in the year ending 31st December 2020, and profit before tax of $1.2m (£0.9m), with gross assets of approximately $12.5m (£9.4m).
In the remaining two months of Bloomsbury’s financial year, ending 28th February 2022, ABC-CLIO is expected to contribute approximately £2.1m of revenue and £0.3m of profit before tax, prior to integration and acquisition costs. ABC-CLIO will operate within Bloomsbury’s Academic & Professional division and its databases will be included within Bloomsbury Digital Resources.
Bloomsbury c.e.o. Nigel Newton said he was "delighted" to add ABC-CLIO to Bloomsbury USA and the wider Bloomsbury Group. "ABC-CLIO is a long-standing and respected American publisher of academic reference, non-fiction, online curriculum, and professional development materials in print and digital formats for academic institutions and schools, faculty and students, and public libraries," he said. "ABC-CLIO is a strong addition to Bloomsbury USA, our Academic & Professional division and to Bloomsbury Digital Resources. This acquisition significantly grows Bloomsbury’s academic and digital publishing presence in North America, opens new markets and publishing areas to Bloomsbury, and is another key step in the delivery of our long-term strategic growth strategy.”
Becky Snyder, president of ABC-CLIO, commented: “Founded by Eric and Inge Boehm in 1955, ABC-CLIO has stood at the forefront of scholarly publishing and academic solutions, committed to igniting a lifelong passion for learning through student-led research. Our family-owned company has had deep ties and commitment to its authors and customers and we believe that intellectual curiosity and educational achievement go hand in hand.
"We are excited to be joining the team at Bloomsbury; a company we greatly respect and whose values and mission align with ours. We are excited about the opportunity Bloomsbury brings us, to significantly expand our reach in shaping education through innovative products that support research and learning.”
The deal constitutes a class two transaction for the purposes of the UK Financial Authority's listing rules and, as such, does not require approval by the company's shareholders.
The acquisition follows Bloomsbury's purchase of Head of Zeus earlier this year, secured in a £8.5m deal in June.