BTW News Briefs

Carnot USA Books Inks Distribution Deal With Continental Sales

Carnot USA Books, a subsidiary of the French Carnot Group, will be distributed by Continental Sales Inc. beginning with the fall 2003 season. Carnot USA books offers original trade paperbacks and hardcovers, as well as nonfiction and fiction titles that focus on current events, crime and mystery, and the arts.

Continental Sales, which is headquartered in Chicago, also represents Bonus Books, Nelson-World Publishing, and PowerHouse Books. --KS

Willis Stein & Partners to Acquire Baker & Taylor

On July 3, Willis Stein & Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, announced that it had signed an agreement to acquire North Carolina-based Baker & Taylor, Inc. from The Carlyle Group for $255 million. The transaction is likely to close by mid-July.

Richard Willis, who will become Baker & Taylor's CEO once the acquisition is concluded, has held a variety of operating and financial positions in media companies. --KS