Bastei Luebbe : Lübbe AG sells majority stake in self-publishing platform BookRix

Cologne/Munich, 27.08.2018. Bastei Lübbe AG (ISIN DE000A1X3YY0), listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, signed an agreement to sell its 54 % stake in BookRix GmbH & Co KG, Munich, on Wednesday, August 22, 2018. The purchaser is Omega-Alpha SA, Luxembourg. The management led by the managing directors Gunnar Siewert and Alex Racic as well as the minority shareholder Constantin Papst remain shareholders. The Supervisory Board of Bastei Lübbe AG has already approved the sale. The sale will be completed with economic effect as of August 31, 2018. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

In May 2014 Bastei Lübbe AG acquired a majority stake in BookRix GmbH & Co KG. The Munich-based company brings the eBooks of thousands of authors to the digital book market every year. BookRix celebrated its 10th anniversary in May this year. Originally founded as a pure Internet start-up and initially without any connection to the publishing industry, the company has developed over the years into one of the leading self-publishing providers specializing in eBooks. The sale of the majority stake is now part of the realignment of Bastei Lübbe AG.

Carel Halff, CEO of Bastei Lübbe AG since November 2017, on the sale: 'I have always monitored the history of BookRix with the utmost attention. Focusing so early on the topic of self-publishing and thus building one of the most successful platforms was a very forward-looking undertaking. The current sale is due to our strategic repositioning of Bastei Lübbe and the focus on our core business. We would like to thank the other shareholders and the managing directors Gunnar Siewert and Alex Racic for the excellent cooperation over the last few years'.

About Bastei Lübbe AG:

Bastei Lübbe AG is a German publishing house based in Cologne specialising in the publication of books, audio books and e-books with fiction and popular science content. The company's core business also includes the periodically published puzzle magazines and novel volumes. With a total of twelve publishing houses and imprints, the group currently has around 3,600 titles from the fields of fiction, non-fiction and children's and young people's books on offer. In the growing segment of hardcover fiction, the company has been the market leader in Germany for many years. At the same time, Bastei Lübbe is an innovation driver in the field of digital media and distribution channels, among other things through the production of thousands of audio and eBooks. This also includes a stake in the renowned game publisher 'Daedalic Entertainment'.

With annual sales of around 107 million euros (2017/2018 financial year), Bastei Lübbe AG is one of the largest medium-sized publishing companies in Germany. Since 2013, the company's shares have been listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (WKN A1X3YY, ISIN DE000A1X3YY0). Further information can be found at www.luebbe.com

Contact Bastei Lübbe AG:
Barbara Fischer
Head of Press and Public Relations
Phone: 0221 / 82 00 28 50
E-mail: [e-mail]

Click here to enable the 'Share' button. Data will only be transferred to third parties if this is enabled.