Thomson-Shore has acquired PublishNext and its subsidiary Seattle Book Company in an effort for the Dexter-based firm to broaden its publishing platform.
"It is something we have been wanting to do for sometime now," says Kevin Spall, president of
Thomson-Shore.
The 40-year-old company, which is 100-percent employee owned, operates as a full-service book publishing, production, and distribution company. It employs 200 people and a couple of summer interns. The firm has hired 10 people (mainly in production and manufacturing) over the last year. It is also looking to hire two more people in sales and customer service.
PublishNext enables authors or small publishing houses to print their tomes or create an eBook. The
Seattle Book Company has distribution channels in new markets that Thomson-Shore desires. Thomson-Shore’s acquired the two entities so it can create a broader publishing and distribution platform that allows it to fill the gaps it has with its customers.
"It was a really good fit from a market-fit and customer-service standpoint," Spall says.
He adds that Thomson-Shore has been looking to make an acquisition like this for the last 18 months and passed on a few other opportunities because they didn't fit Thomson-Shore's goals of supplying high-quality products and services.
Source: Kevin Spall, president of Thomson-Shore
Writer: Jon Zemke
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