Vivendi to Pursue Total Ownership of Lagardère (publishersweekly.com)

Further to our January announcement, Pearson PLC announces an agreement to sell a 22% stake in the Penguin Random House Venture to our partner Bertelsmann SE & Co KGaA and recapitalise the business. The transaction is in line with our strategy and allows us to generate net proceeds of approximately $1 billion, strengthen our balance sheet, return £300m of surplus capital to shareholders via a share buyback and maintain a significant income stream from an ongoing 25% stake in the world’s leading consumer publisher. This transaction values the Penguin Random House Venture at an enterprise value of $3.55 billion. The formation of PRH in 2013 created the first truly global consumer book publishing company, with a significant market share lead over its nearest competitors. Over the last four years PRH has enjoyed significant creative and commercial success and delivered more than $150m in annualised integration benefits, increasing profit and margins and creating significant value for both partners. Click Read More below for additional detail.

Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster, and Sourcebooks have filed a lawsuit against Florida public officials, challenging sweeping book removal provisions of HB 1069, an education law that restricts books in school libraries. The additional plaintiffs joining the publishers are the Authors Guild, bestselling authors Julia Alvarez, Laurie Halse Anderson, John Green, Jodi Picoult, and Angie Thomas, two students, and two parents. As a result of HB 1069, hundreds of titles have been banned across the state since the bill went into effect in July 2023. The list of banned books includes classics such as Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, as well as contemporary novels by bestselling authors such as Margaret Atwood, Judy Blume, and Stephen King. Among nonfiction titles, accounts of the Holocaust such as The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank have been removed.

Target Corporation and Ulta Beauty announced a strategic, long-term partnership to transform the beauty landscape with Ulta Beauty at Target. The “shop-in-shop” concept will offer established and emerging prestige brands online and in select Target locations nationwide beginning next year. Target and Ulta Beauty, two trusted retail leaders that excel in curation, omnichannel engagement and guest-centric experiences, will together create a new way for beauty enthusiasts to discover exciting prestige brands. The partnership brings Ulta Beauty’s best-in-class beauty authority to millions of guests who love the ease and convenience of Target’s one-stop shopping experience. It also provides beauty brands an opportunity to expand and grow in a new, industry-leading omnichannel retail experience.