12-25-2019, 03:29 PM | #1 | ||
just an egg
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OverDrive sold to private equity firm KKR
The Christmas Eve timing of the announcement is curious — as if they wanted this news to fly under the radar.
from BusinessWire: Quote:
from MarketWatch: Quote:
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12-25-2019, 04:51 PM | #2 |
Grand Sorcerer
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The timing does seem weird...
And given how private equity firms generally operate firms they acquire... RIP Overdrive? |
12-25-2019, 05:37 PM | #3 |
eReader Wrangler
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12-25-2019, 06:24 PM | #4 |
Wizard
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Interesting. I wonder if the OD integration into Kobo ereaders will survive.
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12-25-2019, 08:37 PM | #5 |
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Interesting. I think ratakun paid a lot of money for it. Did they stymy Amazon?
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12-26-2019, 07:06 AM | #6 |
Wizard
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so all software solutions to borrow e-books from libraries will be under the thumb of a single private equity firm ( who may merge Overdrive with Rbdigital or kill one to promote the other)
I don't see this ending well, for us consumers |
12-26-2019, 08:30 AM | #7 |
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Aren't there other alternatives, like FReading?
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12-26-2019, 09:12 AM | #8 |
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never heard of them but ok - a google search shows some USA libraries use them, dunno how many.
I thought overdrive had most of the library market, except where Rbdigital had under-bid them on renewals( which is what happened with my library ) wikipedia says [overdrive's]global network includes more than 43,000 public libraries, K-12 schools, colleges and universities, and corporations in 75 countries worldwide. I cant easily find comparable figures for the others, but looking for freading on google play it had only 500+downloads [ and 1 terrible review] , compared to 1M+ for libby & 5M+ for overdrive, so hardly a serious competitor ? RBditial is 500k+ and borrowbox 100k+ so judging from downloads, overdrive has 10x the users of Rbdigital , & 2,000x the users of Freading Last edited by stumped; 12-26-2019 at 09:18 AM. |
12-26-2019, 10:46 AM | #9 |
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One of the ways these firms operate is to buy wholly owned subsidiaries to take them public. Also, it is worth remembering that library ebook lending isn't the only thing Overdrive does, just their dominant revenue stream.
They are also ebook distributors for white label ADEPT ebookstores. A dying business, I know, but their Libby app is all over the place--well over a million installs on Android--so they are a viable candidate to add ebook sales to Libby and add a consumer business. They have the visibility and back end capabilities to expand into ebook and audiobook retail and challenge Amazon. They could also look to pbooks to challenge Ingram now that Baker and Taylor is out of the trade book distribution business. Or, less likely, they mivht buy Ingram. Also, if B&N wants to get rid of Nook or their pbook distribution system (as suggested by Shatzkin), KKR could buy it cheap and combine the three properties, run it a year, and IPO it. They paid a premium for Overdrive so expansion and IPO is the more likely plan. What remains to be seen is how they go about it. This could get interesting. Last edited by fjtorres; 12-26-2019 at 10:49 AM. |
12-26-2019, 04:35 PM | #10 |
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Gross. Just gross.
Private equity. Ugh. It makes me wonder if they are looking to part with all of Kobo at some point also |
12-26-2019, 04:41 PM | #11 | |
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Quote:
I do have to honestly wonder if Kobo is making much money these days... Hard to compete with the "mainstream" Amazon Kindle ecosystem for its ease of use and integration with regular "shopping". (i.e. A user can go onto the Amazon site to buy household supplies and then easily pop over to the Kindle section to buy something to read, or be linked to something via their suggestions). |
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12-26-2019, 05:18 PM | #12 |
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12-26-2019, 06:04 PM | #13 | |
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Quote:
If you look at the holdings of KKR, you see they have investments in a lot of companies include Lyft, Sonos and UFC, and many of their investments go back years. |
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12-26-2019, 06:20 PM | #14 | |
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Quote:
So realistically Kobo integration benefits Kobo a lot more than Overdrive. To differentiate their hardware from the other ADEPT ePub ereaders. Kobo might have to pony up some cash now that they're not corporate siblings. Or not. Also, to the extent that driving library usage benefits Overdrive, they might open up the channel to other ADEPT ereaders, maybe all of them, instead of closing it to Kobo. Seems to me folks are only thinking about bad options instead of ways freeing Overdrive from (the not so ebook-invested) Rakuten might be good. Last edited by fjtorres; 12-26-2019 at 06:24 PM. |
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12-26-2019, 06:48 PM | #15 | ||
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