Arden back whence it came with Bloomsbury deal

Published on Tuesday 6 January 2009 20:17

SMALL BUT BEAUTIFUL

BLOOMSBURY, the publishing house behind the Harry Potter phenomenon, yesterday bought the Arden Shakespeare series from Cengage Learning.

Arden was described by Bloomsbury as the "most academically rigorous Shakespeare series in print, and the best-known English literature brand worldwide".

Bloomsbury did not disclose the price it had paid for Arden but said the transaction was "not material" to the company's finances.

Originally created by publishing firm Methuen in the late 19th century, the Arden series took 25 years to complete from the launch of the first title, Edward Dowden's Hamlet, in 1899.

Bloomsbury said: "Arden Shakespeare will retain its internationally recognised name and become part of the Methuen Drama imprint, acquired in 2006 by A&C Black which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bloomsbury."

Jill Coleman, A&C Black's managing director, added: "I am delighted the Arden Shakespeare series is returning to Methuen."

She said the Arden list had "significant potential for digital exploitation".

Bloomsbury has a market cap of about 120 million and turned over 150m in 2007.