Follett Announces Sale of Baker & Taylor

Follett Corp. has sold book and digital content distributor Baker & Taylor, which will now operate as a separate, privately owned entity. The company was sold to a private investment group led by Amandeep Kochar, who previously served as general manager and executive vice president of Baker & Taylor.

Follett had acquired Baker & Taylor in April 2016., and the company offered no explanation for the divestiture, which comes just two months after the divestiture of its K–12 School Solutions Division. However, both Follett and Baker & Taylor indicated they expect a seamless transition for customers.

"Working together on a thoughtful transition, both Baker & Taylor and Follett Corporation are committed to ensuring this change is seamless for our customers, partners and team members," Kochar said.

"This is a pivotal and exciting time for Baker & Taylor. As an independent entity, we look forward to leading with our expertise and legacy and advancing our technology-based services and products," Kochar said.

Kochar will serve as president and CEO of Baker & Taylor. The rest of the management team will also be remaining in place. Related businesses will also be going with Baker & Taylor following the sale, including "Baker & Taylor Publisher Services, collectionHQ, Baker & Taylor UK and [Australian subsidiary] James Bennett," according to the companies.

About the Author

David Nagel is the former editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal, STEAM Universe, and Spaces4Learning. A 30-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art, marketing, media, and business publications.

He can be reached at [email protected]. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrnagel/ .


Featured

  • Hand holding a stylus over a tablet with futuristic risk management icons

    Why Universities Are Ransomware's Easy Target: Lessons from the 23% Surge

    Academic environments face heightened risk because their collaboration-driven environments are inherently open, making them more susceptible to attack, while the high-value research data they hold makes them an especially attractive target. The question is not if this data will be targeted, but whether universities can defend it swiftly enough against increasingly AI-powered threats.

  • businessman juggling cubes

    Anthology Restructures, Focuses on Teaching and Learning Business

    Anthology has announced a strategic restructuring, divesting its Enterprise Operations, Lifecycle Engagement, and Student Success businesses and filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in an effort to right-size its finances and focus on its core teaching and learning products.

  • magnifying glass highlighting a human profile silhouette, set over a collage of framed icons including landscapes, charts, and education symbols

    AWS, DeepBrain AI Launch AI-Generated Multimedia Content Detector

    Amazon Web Services (AWS) and DeepBrain AI have introduced AI Detector, an enterprise-grade solution designed to identify and manage AI-generated content across multiple media types. The collaboration targets organizations in government, finance, media, law, and education sectors that need to validate content authenticity at scale.

  • Stylized illustration of an AI microchip connected to a laptop, server rack, and monitor with a chart

    HPE and Nvidia Announce Expanded AI Infrastructure Partnership

    Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Nvidia have expanded their partnership to accelerate enterprise artificial intelligence adoption through new modular infrastructure and turnkey AI platform offerings.