Amazon Reach Agreement To Acquire The Book Depository (Updated With Links)

This is fairly significant breaking news this morning. Amazon has reached agreement to acquire The Book Depository. It is also interesting that Amazon has chosen to release the news on what is a big holiday in the USA. While an agreement has been reached, it remains to be seen how the UK Government and company regulatory bodies will react to the acquisition. Considering the significance of this move, Amazon released a rather ‘short’ press release giving away no real details of the deal struck.

More on this to follow, but for now, that press release:

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN – News) today announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire The Book Depository International. The Book Depository is an online bookseller offering over six million books for delivery worldwide.

“Customers in more than 100 countries enjoy The Book Depository’s vast selection, convenient delivery and free shipping,” said Greg Greeley, Amazon’s Vice President of European Retail. “The Book Depository is very focused on serving its customers around the world, and we look forward to welcoming them to the Amazon family.”

“With the support of Amazon, we look forward to continuing our growth and providing an ever-improving service for readers globally,” said Andrew Crawford, Founder, The Book Depository.

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

So far media reaction from the USA has been relatively muted – the few covering the story simply report the scant detail from Amazon’s own press release this morning. I’ll add more news links as they are posted.

The Bookseller is reporting that The Book Depository will continue to ‘operate independently’ of Amazon. Mike Shatzkin has shared his views on the news along with Pearson Australia becoming a retailer as well as a publisher.