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Simon & Schuster has acquired the largest Dutch publishing group Veen Bosch & Keuning, including all of its publishers in the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as sister companies Thinium and Bookchoice.
Terms of the all-cash transaction, which was announced yesterday (6th May), have not been disclosed and are still subject to review.
Simon & Schuster (S&S) was bought by the private equity firm KKR in August 2023. At the time, KKR said it intends to support the publisher’s growth in international markets.
S&S has said that said its "extensive international network of companies" will provide Veen Bosch & Keuning (VBK) authors better opportunities to publish their work outside the Dutch-speaking region.
The company added that VBK will continue to operate autonomously and will also maintain its editorial independence. VBK c.e.o. Geneviève Waldmann will lead the Dutch business and will join the S&S leadership team.
This represents S&S’ first acquisition of a non-English publisher, and "fits well in its strategy to expand its publishing reach in key geographies". Through VBK, S&S will gain "greater access to the Dutch and broader European markets". The companies also aim to "provide a better avenue to sell, produce and distribute its titles in Europe and to publish more S&S titles locally".
Waldmann said: “We would like to offer our writers a larger and international platform. By joining S&S, we can expand on this ambition and our pursuit of further digitisation and innovation. S&S and VBK are a perfect match. Both publishing houses, which are led by experienced publishers, have been around for over a century and serve a broad portfolio of writers. Creativity and entrepreneurship are shared core values, which are also reflected in the organisational culture where authors typically work in small teams with committed editors and collaborators.”
Jonathan Karp, president and c.e.o. of S&S, added: “In the discussions with VBK about a possible collaboration, we immediately noticed that as publishers we share the same values and have the same way of working. We have great confidence that VBK, under Geneviève’s leadership, will continue to flourish. Our common goal is to expand the audience for our authors and their books in an increasingly international publishing industry. We are very excited about VBK’s growth opportunities. It will maintain its independence and operate as an autonomous division within our company. I look forward to welcoming all VBK colleagues.”
VBK, Thinium and Bookchoice will remain Dutch companies, based in Amsterdam, Utrecht, Weesp and Antwerp. All employees of the group, the publishers and sister companies will be included in the acquisition. All VBK employees will also be able to benefit from the S&S broad-based equity ownership programme.