WH Smith drops AOL book bid
UK bookseller ‘not pursuing’ US publisher
March 27 2003
WH Smith has abandoned a plan to launch a bid for the publishing arm of US media giant AOL Time Warner.
Two weeks ago, the UK leading book and news retailer said it was considering a bid for the AOL Time Warner Book Group in partnership with private equity firm Cinven. However the retailer said: “The preliminary discussions have now come to an end and neither WHSmith nor Cinven will be pursuing this further.”
AOL hopes to sell the publishing business for around $400m. It includes the Warner Books and Little, Brown imprints, with authors including James Patterson and Jackie Collins
WH Smith had hoped to merge the business its existing publisher, Hodder Headline, to create a major transatlantic operation.
Other potential bidders including News Corp and Viacom have also withdrawn from the race, with Bertelsmann’s publishing arm Random House now seen as the strongest contender but yet to submit a bid.
