Zed Books acquired by Bloomsbury Publishing

(March 2020)

Bloomsbury Publishing plc has acquired Zed Books, the London-based academic and non-fiction publisher. Bertoli Mitchell acted for the vendors, advising on all financial and commercial aspects of the process from initiation to completion.

Bloomsbury is to pay £1.75mln for the acquisition, of which £875,000 has been paid in cash upfront.

"We are delighted to become the new guardian of the prestigious and progressive Zed list,” said Jonathan Glasspool, the managing director of Bloomsbury's Academic & Professional Division.

“The Zed programme aligns very well with our existing publishing within I.B. Tauris and complements Bloomsbury Academic's publishing across a wide range of humanities and social science subjects. Over 40 years, Zed has built up a unique presence in African and Development Studies, an area we wish to grow,” he added.

Kika Sroka-Miller, the co-owner and a director of Zed Books, said Bloomsbury's recognition of the value of Zed's Global South focus comes at a pivotal historical moment.

“Moving the Zed list to Bloomsbury not only secures its long-term future and development but greatly increases the global reach of the Africa and Development lists in particular, which has always been Zed's primary goal. Furthermore, Zed's ground-breaking Middle East, Gender and Sexualities, Race and Indigenous Politics lists fit well within Bloomsbury's broader publishing programme and crucially, the move ensures Zed's books remain independently published," Sroka-Miller said.

She added:  "The team at Bertoli Mitchell provided our board with steady and clear guidance through what was a complex process … [They] delivered on all counts when it came to the key parameters we set out at the beginning of the project. A fantastic result."