Planeta’s Purchase of Editis Builds Strong Publishing House in Europe and Latin America

by Adriana V. López -- Críticas, 5/1/2008 8:59:00 AM

The nearly-finalized purchase of French publishing group Editis by Spain’s Grupo Planeta for approximately €200 million (approximately US$310,655,000) would create a giant European publisher of Spanish-language books and expand in Latin America, with a French twist. At press time, the French investment group Wendel had confirmed that it hoped to finalize the agreement in June for the sale of Editis, France’s second-largest publishing company, to Planeta. The latter would be valued at €1.03 billion (approximately $1.63 billion).

José Manuel Lara, president of Grupo Planeta—a company with 40 publishing houses in 28 countries—explained that, with the merger he wants to “contribute to the cultural exchange of our countries with the production of Spanish authors in French and vice versa and to look into developing editorial projects together.”

How far this cross cultural pollination will go remains uncertain. At a press conference in late April, Lara said that Editis would continue being a “French publisher.” When further questioned about details regarding the introduction of Spanish-language authors to French readers and of French authors to Spanish-language readers, he answered, “These are steps that will be made once the negotiations are finished.”

Firm on demonstrating Planeta’s dedication to respecting local tastes in a global market, Lara pointed to the company’s publishing houses in Latin America: “In each of the Latin American countries where Planeta is found, they share only 30 percent of the catalog in common; 70 percent of the rest is local.” Planeta has offices in Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, Venezuela, Brazil, and Peru. Planeta shut down its U.S. offices in March.

A Planeta spokesperson noted that “together the groups will sell about €2 billion worth of books in Europe a year.” While the absorption of Editis may permit it to someday become Europe’s leading book conglomerate, Germany’s Bertelsmann (which owns Random House) currently holds that title.