Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury announced it has bought a US academic publisher in a deal worth up to 83 million US dollars (£65 million).
Its boss described the acquisition of Rowman & Littlefield as a “game-changer” which will help accelerate its expansion overseas.
Bloomsbury Publishing is set to pay 76 million US dollars (£60 million) in cash and up to seven million US dollars (£5 million) held in escrow.
The publisher behind the Harry Potter series said it was its biggest acquisition to date and will see it become a leading academic publisher in North America.
Rowman & Littlefield’s top authors cover academic arts, humanities and social sciences and it publishes thousands of nonfiction books and textbooks, both in print and digitally.
The combined business will publish nearly 100,000 titles between them, Bloomsbury said.
“This acquisition is a game-changer for Bloomsbury,” said Nigel Newton, Bloomsbury’s chief executive.
“Their 40,000 academic titles added to ours will make us a significant US academic publisher, growing Bloomsbury’s academic and digital publishing presence in North America, opening new markets and publishing areas to Bloomsbury, and is a key milestone in the delivery of our long-term growth strategy.”
Bloomsbury, which also publishes cookbooks from chefs including Tom Kerridge, Gino D’Acampo and Paul Hollywood, recently revealed its biggest ever yearly profit and sales.
Its finances were bolstered by sales for top-selling authors including Sarah J Maas, whose fantasy fiction series have generated huge audiences.
Meanwhile, its academic and professional division lagged behind the consumer arm with sales falling compared with the previous year.
Experts suggested that investors might be concerned that the publisher is not expecting to publish a new title from its “star author” Maas in the next financial year.
But Dan Coatsworth, an investment analyst for AJ Bell, said the latest takeover news shows Bloomsbury is taking steps to diversify its portfolio of authors and titles.
He said: “Bloomsbury has come a long way from the days when its fortunes were almost completely tied to the Harry Potter franchise and today’s acquisition of a US academic publisher accelerates the company’s diversification strategy.”
Shares in Bloomsbury were up by about 2% on Wednesday morning.