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Scholastic is acquiring Cottage Door Press, the publisher of early childhood books, for $71 million. Cottage Door's Luna StoryTime products, a line of interactive electronic toys, is not part of the transaction.
Cottage Door Press will be integrated into Scholastic's Children's Book Group and is expected to continue operating with its existing publishing team and entrepreneurial approach, "preserving the brand, expertise, creative identity and innovative culture that has driven its success while benefiting from Scholastic's broader capabilities and resources." Founded in 2014 by CEO Dick Maddrell, Cottage Door Press had net revenue of about $45 million and was "strongly profitable" in the year ended May 31.
The purchase will, Scholastic said, expand its position "in the early childhood book market, a key focus area for the company, by adding a proven independent publisher with distinctive strengths in early childhood and novelty formats. The transaction is expected to broaden Scholastic's children's publishing portfolio across formats, categories and channels, creating new opportunities to reach children and families."
Peter Warwick, Scholastic president and CEO, said, "Dick Maddrell and his team have built one of the fastest growing independent publishers with category-defining formats, concepts and licenses, as well as strong relationships with retailers and families. Bringing their strengths together with Scholastic's trusted brand, publishing expertise, unique school channels and distribution scale creates meaningful opportunities to build on that momentum and create long-term value."
Sasha Quinton, president of Scholastic's Children's Book Group, said, "Cottage Door brings a distinctive creative vision to publishing for our youngest readers, with an exceptional ability to develop innovative formats that children want to touch, explore and experience. We have long admired both the creativity of Cottage Door's publishing and the team that brings those books to market. We are thrilled to welcome them to Scholastic and are excited about what we can create together for children and families."
Dick Maddrell, founder and CEO of Cottage Door Press, added, "I am incredibly proud of what our team has built over the years, and it was deeply gratifying to see how strongly others valued what we have created. Finding the right home for our brand and our team was an important priority. Scholastic not only understands what makes Cottage Door special, but they share a kid-first culture and can help Cottage Door realize its full potential in this next stage of growth."