Acquisition

Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
23 April 2003







23 April 2003





           BLOOMSBURY ACQUIRES LEADING GERMAN PUBLISHER BERLIN VERLAG



Bloomsbury Publishing Plc ('Bloomsbury'), the children's, adult and reference
book publisher, announced today that it has acquired Berlin Verlag
Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH and BvT Berliner Taschenbuch Verlags GmbH ('Berlin
Verlag'), together one of Germany's leading literary publishers, from its
founder Arnulf Conradi.  Dr Conradi founded Berlin Verlag
Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH in 1994 and recently acquired the companies from
the German publisher Verlagsgruppe Random House GmbH.



Berlin Verlag publishes 30 hardback and 72 paperback titles per year and has a
backlist of 350 titles.  The majority of Berlin Verlag's books are read by
adults and its authors include Nadine Gordimer, Margaret Atwood, Richard Ford,
Peter Esterhazy, Peter Nadas, Zeruya Shalev, Elke Schmitter, Ingo Schulze and
Tilman Spengler. These authors have given strong support to the link-up with
Bloomsbury.  Several of Berlin Verlag's authors currently have their books
published by Bloomsbury in the English language.  At the end of February 2003
Berlin Verlag had estimated net assets of Euro 3.3m (£2.3m).



In addition to the complementary nature of the two businesses, the acquisition
of Berlin Verlag allows Bloomsbury to expand in another major book publishing
market. New initiatives for Berlin Verlag include starting a children's list
under the editorship of Berlin Verlag co-founder, Elisabeth Ruge. Dorothee
Grisebach, one of Germany's most respected publishers who has been acquiring
titles for Bloomsbury to publish in Germany for the past year, will now join the
editorial directorate, also acquiring titles for the Berlin Verlag list and will
be a key figure in the future growth of the German business.



Arnulf Conradi, one of Germany's most respected publishers, will remain Managing
Director of Berlin Verlag Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH.  Nigel Newton, Chairman
of Bloomsbury, will also become non-executive chairman of Berlin Verlag
Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH.



Commenting on the acquisition, Nigel Newton said today:



'Through Berlin Verlag we will publish in German many of the key authors that
Bloomsbury publishes elsewhere in the English language. Both publishing
companies share a commitment to publishing significant literary authors. We are
confident that within the Bloomsbury group, Berlin Verlag will expand its
considerable literary reputation, which will enable Berlin Verlag to achieve a
good level of profitability.



'Berlin Verlag greatly strengthens Bloomsbury's position as an international
publisher. We have been looking for some years to establish ourselves in
Germany.  The long term fundamentals of the market are among the best in the
world with a high number of bookshops per capita, strength in the independent
bookselling sector, a well educated population and a high level of book
readership.'



Arnulf Conradi commented:



'Berlin Verlag and Bloomsbury have always had a shared editorial vision, a
commitment to publishing high quality writing well, and a large portfolio of
shared authors, including Margaret Atwood and Nadine Gordimer.  The businesses
complement each other well and there are many opportunities for future growth.



'We also have a unique opportunity to bring a new voice to children's publishing
in Germany where Bloomsbury is already well known as the publisher of Harry
Potter. We will be working closely with Bloomsbury's children's publishing teams
in the UK and USA, drawing on the rich range of their titles as well as
commissioning new ones from German authors and illustrators.'





Enquiries:



Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Nigel Newton

Tel:  [phone]



Berlin Verlag

Arnulf Conradi

Tel:  [phone]



Financial Dynamics

Tim Spratt/Charles Palmer

Tel:  [phone]



www.berlinverlag.com


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange      ACQUOABROKRSUAR