Reader’s Digest to sell unit for $17.5 million
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- November
- 12
The Reader’s Digest Association Inc. announced an agreement to sell most of its Books Are Fun business to Imagine Nation Books Ltd. for $17.5 million.
The sale allows Chappaqua-based Reader’s Digest to cut its exposure to a business that has performed poorly in recent years and hurt profits. Books Are Fun sells books and gifts at fairs held at schools and offices.
The sale is expected to close in late December. “This agreement is in the best interest of Books Are Fun’s customers, and we are committed to a seamless transition,” Mary Berner, president and chief executive officer of Reader’s Digest, said in a written statement.Imagine Nation, based in Boulder, Colo., is expected to offer contracts to roughly 900 independent sales representatives who sell Books Are Fun products around the country. The jobs of about 100 back-office workers at Reader’s Digest in the Chicago area and Iowa will be eliminated as a result of the transaction, said Bill Adler, a spokesman for Reader’s Digest.
The company’s employment of about 800 in Chappaqua is unaffected, according to Adler.
As part of the transaction, the companies agreed to a multi-year strategic alliance in which Reader’s Digest will sell products through Imagine Nation in display marketing channels.
Following the closing of the transaction, RDA will wind down most of the remaining operations of Books Are Fun, but will keep some of the unit’s retail stores.
“We are pleased to announce this agreement, and we appreciate the spirit of cooperation that has enabled us to come together for the greater good of our customers,” said Earl P. Kaplan, president and CEO of Imagine Nation. “We’re committed to making it work.”
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, November 12th, 2008 at 4:41 pm by Jay Loomis.
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