Bloomsbury believes the new acquisition will be a “game changer” for the Harry Potter publisher

The Harry Potter publisher has strengthened its academic imprint with the acquisition of Rowman & Littlefield for 83 ($65 million).

Bloomsbury Publishing, which like JK Rowling’s series is known for its fantasy and fiction hits, said the academic and trade publisher’s move “significantly accelerates and strengthens (its) academic publishing in North America.”

The takeover coincided with record results for Bloomsbury, in which the publisher’s success in fantasy helped it post profits of £41.5m and increase its dividend by 25%.

The deal takes the form of a sale and purchase agreement, and of the $83m (£65m) cost, $76m (£60m) has already been paid, the companies said in a statement to markets. The remaining $7 million (£5.5 million) is expected to be met upon completion.

Rowman & Littlefield is an independent private publisher that publishes over 40,000 academic titles. The company will join Bloomsbury’s already successful academic publishing division, which publishes titles in areas as diverse as law, film and media, engineering history and international development.

Bloomsbury CEO Nigel Newton said: “This acquisition is a game changer for Bloomsbury. Rowman & Littlefield is one of the few independent academic publishers of this scale, and it’s great that our discussions with Jed Lyons led to this acquisition. Their 40,000 academic titles added to ours will make us a significant U.S. academic publisher, expanding Bloomsbury’s academic and digital publishing presence in North America.”

Bloomsbury, which funded the acquisitions with a new three-year $38 million (£30 million) loan from Llloyds as well as its own cash reserves, has set itself the goal of being a leading US academic publisher. It expects the acquisition to help its digital assets business generate £41m in revenue by 2027.

In 2023, Rowman & Littlefield’s academic business generated $36 million (£28 million) in revenue and a pre-tax profit of $6 million (£5 million).

Jed Lyons, president and CEO of Rowman & Littlefield, said: “2024 marks the 75th anniversary of Rowman & Littlefield. When Nigel Newton approached me and described his vision for how our academic businesses would complement Bloomsbury’s academic business, it quickly became clear that there was a compelling fit.”

The transaction does not include Rowman & Littlefield’s Globe Pequot listings, its publishing division or its commercial distribution business.