Bloomsbury acquires independent I B Tauris

Bloomsbury has acquired independent non-fiction publisher I B Tauris, a specialist in Middle Eastern and political publishing, for £5.8m.

Of the price, £4.8m was satisfied in cash at completion and up to £1.0m will be paid post-completion, subject to working capital and other adjustments.

Jonathan McDonnell, managing director of I B Tauris since 1997, will remain with the company until late summer to "ensure an orderly transfer of the business" to Bloomsbury.

Bloomsbury said the acquisition will "strengthen Bloomsbury’s commitment to serve the scholarly community with original, cutting-edge content". It comes as Bloomsbury’s Academic division begins a year of celebrations for its 10th anniversary this May.

I B Tauris, founded in 1983, publishes 300 new books internationally every year and has approximately 3,000 books available in either hardcover, paperback or digital editions. The I B Tauris publishing catalogue aligns with Bloomsbury’s academic publishing in the humanities, and broadens its publishing in the social sciences, particularly in Middle East Studies and International Relations where I B Tauris has been a leader, said Bloomsbury.

A statement on the acquisition said the acquisition is expected to "make a small profit in its first year, before reorganisation and acquisition costs, then be earnings enhancing thereafter." I B Tauris will contribute approximately £3.5m of revenue to Bloomsbury in the year ending 28th February 2019, the statement said.

Jonathan Glasspool, managing director of Bloomsbury's Academic & Professional Division, said the company is "delighted" with the acquisition. “I B Tauris has a world-renowned list in Middle Eastern, Politics and International Relations lists which complements Bloomsbury’s humanities programme. I B Tauris’s authors in the arts and humanities will benefit from the wider reach and scale of Bloomsbury’s international operation, as well as Bloomsbury’s investments in academic digital resources through its 2020 initiative", said Glasspool.

Iradj Bagherzade, founder and chairman of I B Tauris, added that the match is "remarkably good".

“There’s a genuine complementarity between our two programmes: both Bloomsbury and I B Tauris share a common approach to publishing, which is not only academically rigorous and quality-centred but also tightly focused on discrete academic disciplines," said Bagherzade. "And in many subject areas there will be a real dove-tailing effect where our lists will fit perfectly with existing ones: I’m thinking of History, Visual Culture and Film Studies. In other areas of I.B. Tauris strength like Middle East or Islamic Studies and Politics/International Relations our programmes will add to the Bloomsbury offering. The old maxim was never truer: the whole will be greater than the sum of its parts.”

Bloomsbury chief executive Nigel Newton commented: "IBT's complementary lists have good growth potential, especially with their inclusion within Bloomsbury's Digital Resources strategy. This acquisition represents another key step in our strategy to continue to grow quality recurring revenues through our digital resource offering."

In 2015, Bloomsbury acquired Osprey Publishing and in 2013 bought legal publisher Hart Publishing.