Bookwire enters into a long-term strategic partnership with IPG

June 2024 — Bookwire, a Germany-based portfolio company of VR Equitypartner, has acquired the digital distribution business of Independent Publishers Group (IPG) and entered into a long-term strategic partnership. Both Bookwire and IPG will continue to focus on their respective specialties, with IPG providing exceptional comprehensive distribution solutions for independent publishers and Bookwire specializing in the worldwide digital distribution of ebooks and audiobooks.

Bookwire was founded in Frankfurt in 2010 as a service provider for the publisher distribution of ebooks and digital content. Since then, it has become one of the leading international businesses in digital publishing technology. The company currently employs 150 people in Germany, the UK, Spain, France, Brazil, Italy and the USA, serving more than 3,000 publishers in the fields of ebooks, audiobooks, podcasts and print-on-demand. The pioneering software “Bookwire OS – One Solution” delivers, analyzes and markets around 1,300,000 ebooks and 300,000 audiobooks in all relevant distribution channels. In addition to the latest customer analytics and pricing technology, Bookwire’s publishing clients also have access to individual end-to-end support from account and marketing managers.

Established in 1971, IPG was the first organization specifically created to market titles from independent presses to the book trade. Today, the company’s broad reach across the book market includes the distribution of both print and ebooks from a wide array of publishers. With consistent growth year over year, IPG’s success has come from supporting and encouraging the growth of its publishing partners in the USA and globally. IPG’s digital distribution business includes the distribution of ebooks and audiobooks on behalf of these publishers around the world.

Our role in the transaction

Oaklins DeSilva+Phillips in New York, supported by the team in Germany, acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Bookwire on the transaction. This transaction emphasizes ODP’s deep sector expertise in advising digital media businesses and solidifies its position as a leading advisor within the book publishing industry.