Funding for iUniverse; E-books for Xlibris

Print-on-demand and subsidy publisher iUniverse.com confirmed that it has secured $21 million in venture capital financing from the technology group at Warburg Pincus, a private equity investment firm. In addition, Warburg Pincus has reserved additional capital for future investment in iUniverse.

Warburg Pincus acquired part of its stake in iUniverse from Barnes & Noble, a deal that reduced the bookseller's previous 49% stake in iUniverse to 29% (News, Jan. 1).

The new financing looks to be pegged to the company's efforts to expand its business beyond subsidized book-publishing services. The company has expanded its program, offering back-office digital publishing infrastructures.

Meanwhile Xlibris.com, also a print-on-demand and subsidy publisher, has announced an agreement with the Adobe company to offer e-books for sale through the Xlibris site in the Glassbook e-book format. Xlibris offers more than 3,000 e-book titles for $8 each through its online bookstore (www.xlibris.com).