HarperCollins Publishers intends to acquire the Egmont book businesses in the UK and Poland as well as Schneiderbuch in Germany

Egmont Publishing announced today, that it has been agreed to sell the children’s books businesses in the UK and Poland together with Schneiderbuch in Germany to HarperCollins. The children book business in other markets are not affected by the deal which is expected to be completed on 30th April 2020.

Torsten Bjerre Rasmussen, CEO Egmont Publishing:

“In Egmont we are proud of our strong children’s book business, one of the leaders in a competitive European market. But we have taken a strategic decision to exit the children’s book business in the UK and Poland along with Schneiderbuch in Germany, and we are pleased to announce that HarperCollins will be the future owner. I want to thank our great employees that have done fantastic work over the years developing books and content to an exceptional standard”.

Egmont Publishing is active in three business areas, multimedia publishing, e-commerce and marketing services. Egmont Publishing has market-leading positions in kids magazines with a strong foothold in the Nordic countries will continue to be a strategic partner for capturing young audiences and producing content that recruits and engage readers in popular brands from companies such like Disney, LEGO, Mattel, Hasbro and Hachette. Egmont Publishing will also continue to be a strong children books publisher in the Nordics and the other CEE-countries. The investment in new growth areas within e-commerce and marketing services will continue as planned and so far Egmont Publishing has invested in a portfolio of 14 companies.   

Chantal Restivo-Alessi, CEO International Foreign Language and CDO, HarperCollins Publishers:

“We are looking forward to welcoming the people from the Egmont books business in the UK and Poland and Schneiderbuch to the HarperCollins family. Egmont’s expertise in the children's book market and position as a global player in licensed publishing, combined with HarperCollins’ global footprint will be the cornerstone for building and growing our worldwide strength in children’s publishing.”

The acquisition of the book business in the UK and Poland and Schneiderbuch in Germany by HarperCollins is expected to be completed on 30th April.