A merger that will combine the two largest publishers of LDS-related books and electronic products closed Thursday.
Deseret Management Corp., the holding company for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' commercial entities, announced that it has finalized the acquisition of privately owned Bookcraft Inc.Financial details of the transaction, which was first announced in early February, were not released.
"We will now be able to develop synergies with Bookcraft and other DMC-owned entities such as Deseret Book, Deseret News and Bonneville International Corporation," said Rodney H. Brady, DMC president and chief executive, in a press release. "The efficiencies and synergies that are possible with this acquisition will also enable the development of new products in electronic and print publishing, as well."
Dennis Madson, Bookcraft's vice president for marketing, said the combination of the two strong companies should be beneficial for both.
"We feel that there are some natural synergies that will truly lead to more effectiveness and cost savings while we are preserving the autonomy and the inherent beauties of friendly competition," Madson said.
Roland Radack, DMC vice president of administration, said Thursday that the combination should not lead to job cuts and Bookcraft will continue to have some autonomy.
"They will continue on as a separate imprint," Radack said. "They're going to still work with their same authors, and we expect they'll continue to operate as a separate part of Deseret Book."
Madson said he thinks Bookcraft will operate much as it has in the past.
"We don't have the answers for how the final animal will look, but we do know that we have some principles that are going to guide us toward that, and that autonomy issue is really a strong one," Madson said.
Radack said the combination should help lead to more products coming out of both companies.
"Individually, they may not have been able to be as successful in expanding into (national and international) markets," he said. "But together, they'll be able to expand."
Robert H. Garff, Deseret Book Co. chairman, agreed.
"The economies and efficiencies that will be achieved will better enable LDS values-oriented publications to enter international markets," Garff said in a press release. "The cost of translating publications into different languages has been a barrier to entry for publishers seeking to introduce their works into different cultures. The acquisition will better enable DMC to enter new markets with new products that will benefit church members and non-members worldwide."
The two companies started talking about the purchase last December, as officials discussed how they could best serve the more than 10 million members of the LDS Church worldwide.
Bookcraft, which was founded in 1942, adds about 65 books and 35 other products to its library every year, including items written by LDS Church general authorities and the popular LDS fiction series "The Work and the Glory."
Bookcraft merged with another private company, Infobases, in 1997 and started producing its Infobase CD-ROM collection of LDS books. Deseret Book, which traces its roots back to 1886, released its own electronic reference library, called GospeLink, last year.
DMC also announced Thursday that it has formed a new subsidiary, yet to be named, that will oversee some of the electronic activities of the current Bookcraft operations.
Radack said the new subsidiary will decide what will happen to the GospeLink and Infobase products. Garff will serve as chairman of the new company, and Alan C. Ashton, Bookcraft chairman and a long-time Infobases investor, will be one of its directors. Other directors will be appointed soon.
Madson said the acquisition will bring some challenges, but he thinks the two companies have much in common.
"As we get to know each other, we're finding that there's a lot less of a cultural clash than we thought, he said."
Radack agreed. "Both companies have focused on values-oriented materials, and . . . I think they'll come together quite nicely."