Hachette Book Group's acquisition of Workman Publishing closed yesterday. The $240 million deal was announced August 17 and would close, said Hachette parent company Lagardère, when regulatory approval was received.
Hachette Book Group CEO Michael Pietsch said, "This is a significant and exciting milestone for Hachette Book Group, as we welcome an extraordinary publisher to HBG. We have deep admiration for Workman's publishing, its people, its authors and illustrators, its books, its commitment to backlist and its culture. The opportunity for HBG to join forces with Workman is one I believe will be enormously beneficial to both companies, and our goal is to provide a new home that will enable Workman to continue to thrive and grow in exciting ways."
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| Dan Reynolds | |
As was indicated last month, Workman CEO Dan Reynolds is heading Workman as Hachette's eighth publishing group, with the title senior v-p and publisher. He is also joining the executive management board.
Reynolds commented: "One glorious Workman era has ended today, and another, full of promise and opportunity, has begun. We are very excited to join the Hachette family of publishers and energized by the prospect of learning ways of working and finding new muscles to flex. But I also want to use this moment to thank [Workman executive chair and president] Carolan Workman for her wise leadership before and during this transition. I speak for everyone at Workman in wishing her a retirement filled with the joys of life, including getting lost in a good book."
Workman includes Workman Publishing, Workman Audio, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, Algonquin Young Readers, Artisan, Storey Publishing, and Timber Press. Among Workman's strongest categories are cookbooks, parenting/pregnancy guides, gardening, country living, humor, children's books, gift books, fiction, audio and calendars.