Regulatory announcements

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc ("Bloomsbury") announces that its US subsidiary, Bloomsbury Publishing Inc, has today completed the purchase of Fairchild Books from Fairchild Fashion Media, a unit of Conde Nast, for $6,500,000. The consideration will be paid in cash from existing cash balances in three equal annual installments, commencing at completion.

For the year-ended 31 December 2011, Fairchild Books generated net profit before tax of $706,000 and as at 31 December 2011 had gross assets of $7,567,000.

Fairchild Books, based in New York, is a market-leading publisher of textbooks and educational resources for students of fashion, merchandising, retailing and interior design. It has a strong history dating back to the nineteenth century and a world-class reputation for producing student materials for the fashion and design industries.

The Fairchild Books list is highly complementary to Bloomsbury's existing academic list in the Visual Arts, which was bolstered by the acquisition of Berg Publishers in 2008, the launch of the award-winning Berg Fashion Library www.bergfashionlibrary.com in 2010 and the acquisition of a fashion photography archive in 2011.

Following the acquisition, the business will be managed by Kathryn Earle, Bloomsbury's Head of Visual Arts, and will report in to Bloomsbury's Academic & Professional division.

Bloomsbury's successful integration of the Continuum business, purchased in July 2011, was the cornerstone acquisition of the Academic & Professional division, providing it with critical mass and excellent opportunities for organic growth and digital exploitation.

The acquisition will bolster Bloomsbury's US presence and raise its profile through an association with a leading brand in a market niche where it is already well established. Fairchild Books' renown as a textbook publisher will create synergies with complementary products published under the Berg imprint that are aimed at more advanced students and researchers. The combined entity provides significant opportunities for new digital initiatives.

Nigel Newton, Chief Executive of Bloomsbury commented:

"The acquisition of Fairchild Books is part of Bloomsbury's long term strategy to increase its Academic Publishing turnover in the USA, the largest market for English language textbooks. There is an excellent fit between Fairchild Book's list and Bloomsbury's visual arts lists.

Gina Sanders, the President and CEO of Fairchild Fashion Media said:

"We are delighted that Fairchild Books has found such a fitting strategic partner in Bloomsbury Publishing Inc., a leading international academic publisher. At the same time, this sale will enable Fairchild Fashion Media to further expand upon our core businesses, including WWD/WWD.com, Style.com, Style.com/Print, FN, Beauty Inc, Menswear, Fairchild Summits, WWD Magic and FN Platform."

For further information, please contact:

Notes for Editors:

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc- Bloomsbury Publishing is a leading independent publishing house with companies in London, New York, Berlin, India and Sydney. Its founder and Chief Executive is Nigel Newton. Its four divisions are:

Bloomsbury Academic & Professional Publishing - Fairchild Books will become part of the Bloomsbury Academic & Professional Division, with Jonathan Glasspool as Managing Director. Bloomsbury Academic & Professional specialises in the humanities, social sciences, law and tax. In 2012, it will be publishing online the digitized edition of the Winston Churchill Archive and Drama Online (with Faber). The division includes Berg Publishers, Methuen Drama, Arden Shakespeare, Bristol Classical Press, Continuum and Bloomsbury Professional.

Bloomsbury Information- includes a number of information databases for electronic as well as print publications. Publications include The Encarta World English Dictionary, The English Language Teaching Database, The Macmillan English Dictionary, Business: The Ultimate Resource, and others. Bloomsbury also provides management services for Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing, a division of the Qatar Foundation.

Bloomsbury Adult Publishing- a substantial list of successful authors including Khaled Hosseini, William Boyd, Margaret Atwood, Donna Tartt, Elizabeth Gilbert, Richard Ford, David Guterson, John Irving, Jay McInerney, Ben Schott, Anthony Bourdain, William Dalrymple, Ben Macintyre, Dava Sobel, Mark Kurlansky, Chelsea Handler, Heston Blumenthal, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and recent Man Booker Prize winner Howard Jacobson. The trade division also features significant reference projects including Wisden, Who's Who, Reed's Nautical and Whitaker's.

Bloomsbury Children's Publishing- a highly successful list including authors such as J.K.Rowling, Neil Gaiman, Debi Gliori, Alyxandra Harvey, Carrie Jones, Shannon Hale, Louis Sachar and Benjamin Zephaniah.

Fairchild Books - Fairchild Books is the world's leading publisher of textbooks and educational resources for students, professionals and aficionados of fashion, merchandising, retail and interior design. Fairchild Books has a unique understanding of the fashion and design worlds. For over 60 years, Fairchild Books has published many of the preeminent titles in the fields of fashion and interior design. The vast majority of Fairchild's titles are published in the classic college publishing model in which texts are adopted by professors or their departments to be used for specific courses.

To return to the Regulatory Announcements section click here