Rowman & Littlefield Buys Sundance/Newbridge
by Jim Milliot -- Publishers Weekly, 9/2/2008 11:45:00 AM
The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group has acquired the assets of the supplementary publisher Sundance/Newbridge from Haights Cross Communications. The acquisition moves RLPG into the K-8 educational publishing field. Until now, the company published for the college and academic markets. “It fills out our program,” said RLPG president Jed Lyons. The deal includes 2,400 titles in a range of subjects, and should also provide NBN (RPLG’s sister company) children’s publishers an opportunity to add their titles to many of Sundance’s programs, Lyons said.
Haights Cross had placed Sundance up for sale last November and earlier this year approved a “winding down” of its business, although the publisher still posted sales of just under $11 million in the first half of 2008. In August, RPLG filed a lawsuit against Haights, alleging that the company broke an agreement it had to buy Sundance from Haights. With the sale, the suit has been dropped. Sundance will continue to operate from its Northborough, Mass. location and the sales team is expected to be rebuilt.
