Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (LON:BMY) has strengthened its presence in the academic book market with the acquisition of IB Tauris.
The consideration was £5.8mln, of which £4.8mln was paid on completion.
READ: Bloomsbury Publishing still pulling rabbits out of the hat
IB has a back catalogue of 4,000 books spanning areas such as Middle East Studies, History, Classics, Politics and International Relations and releases 200 new titles annually.
Around 90% of sales are in print and Bloomsbury expects to be able to build digital sales through its own platform.
IB's revenues were £4.3mln in 2017 and it is expected to make a small underlying profit in its first year before integration costs and be earnings enhancing to Bloomsbury thereafter.
Revenues of £3.5mln are predicted from IB in the year to February 2019.
Nigel Newton, Bloomsbury’s chief executive, said the acquisition consolidates its significant presence in humanities and social science academic publishing.
“IB's complementary lists have good growth potential, especially with their inclusion within Bloomsbury's Digital Resources strategy.”