Regulatory announcements

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (LSE: BMY), the leading independent publisher, today announces that it has completed the acquisition of the issued share capital of Head of Zeus Limited (“Head of Zeus”, “HoZ” or the “Acquisition”). The total valuation is £8.45 million, including payments of pre-existing loans. The consideration, net of pre-existing loans, is £7.35 million, of which £5.5 million will be satisfied in cash at completion, with £1.1 million payable in cash post completion, subject to working capital and other considerations, and £0.75 million of deferred consideration payable in cash subject to achievement of revenue, profit and Netflix release targets.

Head of Zeus is an independent publisher of genre fiction and narrative non-fiction and children’s books, based in London. It has published many bestsellers, won literary prizes and industry awards. Its best-selling authors include Dan Jones, Cixin Liu, Victoria Hislop, and Lesley Thomson, and Elodie Harper, whose The Wolf Den went last week to number 5 in The Times bestseller list. Cixin Liu’s bestselling science fiction trilogy, The Three-Body Problem, is being adapted for Netflix by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, creators of HBO’s Game of Thrones.

This acquisition will provide a strong addition to Bloomsbury’s thriving Consumer division and support our long term Consumer growth strategy, with new high quality authors and effective publishing across all formats, including e-book and audio.

HoZ generated £8.6 million* of revenue in the year ended 31 December 2020, and profit before tax of £0.3 million*, with net assets of £4.6 million*.

Nigel Newton, Chief Executive of Bloomsbury, commented:

“Head of Zeus’s entrepreneurial and innovative approach to publishing, and its wide range of trade titles, will make a strong addition to Bloomsbury’s own.  Bloomsbury will be able to provide the scale and digital platforms to boost Head of Zeus’ success while operating as an independent imprint within the Bloomsbury Consumer division. We look forward to welcoming Head of Zeus’ great authors and talented staff to Bloomsbury and working with them in the years to come.”

Anthony Cheetham, Chairman, Head of Zeus commented:

“After nine vigorous years as an independent publisher, I believe that Head of Zeus, our authors, our staff and our shareholders have found the right long term home for our company with Bloomsbury.

I have known Nigel Newton for more than thirty years. We share many of the same values: creative publishing, unique content and beautiful books. And an entrepreneurial spirit that values innovation above conformity. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc is itself unique as the only British book publisher listed on the London Stock Exchange.

I would like to express my gratitude to all our stakeholders for their support since Head of Zeus was launched in 2012, and my thanks to Bloomsbury for opening the door to further growth and opportunity in the years ahead.”

*Audited.

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This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is disclosed in accordance with the company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR. 

The information in this announcement has not been audited or otherwise independently verified and no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made as to, and no reliance should be placed on, the fairness, accuracy, completeness or correctness of the information or opinions contained herein. None of the Company or any of its affiliates, advisors or representatives shall have any liability whatsoever (in negligence or otherwise) for any loss whatsoever arising from any use of this announcement, or its contents, or otherwise arising in connection with this announcement.

This announcement does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to sell, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase any shares in the Company, nor shall it or any part of it or the fact of its distribution form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract or commitment or investment decisions relating thereto, nor does it constitute a recommendation regarding the shares of the Company.

Certain statements, statistics and projections in this announcement are or may be forward looking. By their nature, forward‑looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or assumptions that may or may not occur and actual results or events may differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that any particular expectation will be met and reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statement. Accordingly, forward-looking statements contained in this announcement regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which are based on the knowledge and information available only at the date of this announcement’s preparation.

The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or keep current the information contained in this announcement, including any forward‑looking statements, or to correct any inaccuracies which may become apparent and any opinions expressed in it are subject to change without notice.

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