Private Equity For AOL Time Warner Inc., the pending exit from trade book publishing represents a departure from one of the company's legacy businesses. The deal would also be a departure for Perseus Books Group, the leading candidate to acquire the Warner Book Group.
To continue its strategic shift with WBG, however, Perseus would have to make "by far its largest deal ever," according to Whitestone Communications Inc. president Baran Rosen. While Perseus does not disclose purchase prices of its acquisitions, Rosen and other sources estimated that the publisher hasn't done a deal in excess of $50 million. Consider, for instance, that reports on the Running Press purchase said the deal would double Perseus' annual revenue to $125 million.
This is an excerpt from an article by Peter Lauria for The Daily Deal; May 5, 2003
