Baker & Taylor Sells Specialty Business Lines, Library Services Company

SRZ advised Baker & Taylor Inc., a worldwide distributor of books, digital content and entertainment products, in two transactions that closed on Feb. 20, 2015 involving the sales of the company’s distribution and marketing businesses and a library services company. In the first transaction, Baker & Taylor sold both the Baker & Taylor Marketing Services U.S. and Baker & Taylor Publishing Group to Readerlink Distribution Services LLC, the largest full-service book distribution company to non-trade booksellers in the United States. In the second transaction, Baker & Taylor sold YBP Library Services, which includes the acquisition content service GOBI³ (Global Online Bibliographic Information), to EBSCO Information Services, the largest provider of collection development and acquisition services for print and electronic journals to libraries worldwide.

The SRZ team advising Baker & Taylor included tax partner Kurt F. Rosell; antitrust partner Michael E. Swartz and special counsel Michael G. Cutini; employment & employee benefits partner Ian L. Levin, special counsel Scott A. Gold and associate Frank P. Sabatini, III; environmental partner Howard B. Epstein; intellectual property, sourcing & technology special counsel Scott M. Kareff; real estate partner Julian M. Wise; and former Schulte lawyer Lowell K. Dyer.