Barnes & Noble to Buy Sterling Publishing

Posted on December 13, 2002

Bookseller Barnes & Noble announced that it has agreed to purchase Sterling Publishing, a publisher of how-to books, for an undisclosed amount. Barnes & Noble said that Sterling Publishing would remain a separate business unit, with its present management in place. The acquisition is expected to close within 45 days.

"We are very excited about this acquisition, because it brings two companies together with very similar publishing visions," said Steve Riggio, chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble, Inc. "Sterling has a winning combination of superior content and value pricing. They have their finger on the pulse of what American consumers buy, and it directly overlaps many of Barnes & Noble's strongest categories. We believe that the strengths of each company will enable us to maximize value out of our respective retail and publishing enterprises. We expect this acquisition will enhance the earnings of Barnes & Noble, as it will be a catalyst to driving sales growth in our stores via the publication and promotion of exciting and highly profitable titles that represent exceptional value to our customers. Additionally, Sterling's well-developed sales force gives us an immediate solution to distributing Barnes & Noble publications to the trade and special markets."

Sterling Publishing has an active list of more than 4,500 titles, and publishes more than 1,000 new titles annually. Sterling publishes how-to books in art technique, gardening, cooking, health, crafts, and house and home. In 2002, Sterling signed a long-term agreement with Hearst Books, under which it has exclusive rights to Hearst's current titles, including perennial bestsellers, such as The Good Housekeeping Cookbook and Chapman's Piloting. The companies are also jointly developing an extensive publishing program based upon content from Hearst's branded magazines, including Good Housekeeping, Country Living, Victoria, Popular Mechanics and Esquire.

Lincoln Boehm, the owner of Sterling Publishing, said, "Barnes & Noble will be a wonderful home for our great employees, our solid authors, and our strong group of distribution clients. The Barnes & Noble brand is one of the best recognized in the U.S., and the company has some exciting ideas for expanding our publishing programs and continuing our growth."