BackNews Corp. acquires Harlequin for $415 mn
Harlequin, founded in 1949, publishes more than 1,300 authors and releases more than 110 titles monthly.
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New York: News Corp. is buying Harlequin Enterprises, a publisher of such titles as Destiny’s Last Bachelor and The Heartbreaker Prince, for C$455 million ($415 million) in cash, according to a statement on Friday.
Rupert Murdoch is purchasing Harlequin from Canada’s Torstar Corp. and will fold it into News Corp.’s HarperCollins publishing unit, which has an imprint called Avon Romance.
Harlequin, founded in 1949, publishes more than 1,300 authors and releases more than 110 titles monthly.
With novels issued in 34 languages, the company also gives News Corp. access to an international audience of readers. Currently almost all of HarperCollins books are published in English.
Book publishing accounted for 15% of New York-based News Corp.’s $8.89 billion in total revenue last year. News Corp. split off from 21st Century Fox Inc. in June, creating a new business focused mostly on publishing.
Harlequin is a perfect fit for the new News Corp, vastly expanding our digital platform, extending our reach across borders and languages, and is expected to provide an immediate lift to earnings, said Robert Thomson, Chief Executive Officer of News Corp.
HarperCollins publishes authors including Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist, and Cokie Roberts, who wrote Founding Mothers.
Harlequin had revenue of C$398 million last year and has more than 1,000 employees worldwide, including more than 350 in Canada.
News Corp., controlled Murdoch, shares rose 1.7% to $17.30 in New York on Thursday and have dropped 4% this year.
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