MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
October 15-31, 2005 Edition
Harlequin Enterprises
Purchases Assets
of BET Books
TORONTO, CA/10/6/2005Harlequin Enterprises Limited has purchased the assets of BET BOOKS, the publishing arm of Black Entertainment Television. The new ownership deal is expected to close November 30, 2005.
This is a key acquisition for Harlequin, and represents a strengthening of the Companys strategic position as one of the worlds leading publishers of womens fiction. The addition of BET Books, a leading publisher of African American womens fiction and the imprints Arabesque, Sepia and New Spirit, to the Harlequin portfolio will enhance the position of Harlequin within a strong growth segment in the US book market.
This acquisition supports a key strategic initiative for Harlequin of offering greater breadth in publishing niches that can create future growth for the overall Harlequin franchise. The BET editorial strategy dovetails perfectly with that of Harlequin – romance, womens fiction and inspirational publishing, states Donna Hayes, Publisher and CEO. We are delighted that Linda Gill has agreed to join Harlequin and lead the growth of this new venture, which combines BET Books with Harlequins own African American program. We are also very pleased to associate ourselves with such an excellent group of authors and are confident that under Linda Gills strong leadership, we will continue to build a strong publishing program for these authors, says Hayes.
ABOUT HARLEQUIN ENTERPRISES LIMITED
Harlequin Enterprises Limited is the global leader in series romance and one of the worlds leading publishers of womens fiction, with titles issued worldwide in 25 languages and sold in 94 international markets. The company produces over 115 titles monthly and publishes more than 1,300 authors from around the world. Harlequin Enterprises Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation, a broadly based media company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TS.nv.b). Harlequins Web site is located at http://www.Harlequin.com. Harlequin has offices in 18 countries including Toronto, New York and London. For more information please visit http://www.Harlequin.com or http://www.harlequin.com/store.html?cid=527.
ABOUT BET
BET, a subsidiary of Viacom, Inc. (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), is the nations leading television network providing quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs programming for the African-American audience. The BET Network reaches more than 79 million households according to Nielsen media research, and can be seen in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. BET is a dominant consumer brand in the urban marketplace with a diverse group of branded businesses: BET.com, the Number 1 Internet portal for African Americans; BET Digital Networks – BET Jazz, BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Event Productions, specializing in a full range of event production services, including event management, venue selection, talent recruitment, sound, lighting and stage production; and BET Books, the nations leading publisher of African-American themed romance novels under the Arabesque imprint which also publishes compelling fiction under the Sepia imprint and inspirational fiction and nonfiction under the New Spirit imprint.
