QUEBEC CITY, April 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marc Boutet, president of De Marque, is proud to announce the acquisition of Libranda, the world’s largest distributor of Spanish-language digital cultural content, such as ebooks.
A Strategic, International Acquisition
The relationship between De Marque and Libranda began in July 2014, when both companies announced a strategic partnership. De Marque joined Libranda’s shareholder group and provided it with its renowned ebook distribution platform, Cantook Hub. Since then, De Marque’s technology has been used through Libranda by some of the largest publishing groups in Spain such as Grupo Planeta, Penguin Random House, Grupo Editorial SM, Wolters Kluwer, Roca Editorial and Edicions 62.
“I am quite thrilled that our colleagues at Libranda are joining De Marque as fully-fledged members of our team while continuing to serve their publishers and retailers,” said Marc Boutet. “The Spanish-speaking market has always been dear to us, which is why we initiated our partnership with Libranda back in 2014. After working closely together for the past four years, consolidating our relationship was the next logical step for both our organizations, igniting us forward to take part in these exciting times in this market.”
"With this new step, Libranda consolidates its history of growth as we embark on a new chapter in offering our customers a wide range of innovative and high value-added services,” said Arantza Larrauri, general manager of Libranda. “Thus, we further strengthen our leadership position amid the publishing sector's digital transformation in Spain and Latin America.”
The Consolidation Of A Strong Partnership
Working together for the past four years has helped create winning conditions for Libranda's strategic integration into De Marque’s activities. The move, which had been planned since July 2014, is very timely as prospects in Spain, Mexico and South America are very promising. As sales of ebooks in Spain continue to show steady growth, readers in Mexico and South America represent strong growth potential as well. Therefore, De Marque’s expansion in these regions will be facilitated by an experienced team, familiar with the particularities of these markets, and further strengthened by De Marque's international expertise.
“Having the Libranda team join with ours is unquestionably a significant moment in the 28-year history of our company,” added Marc Boutet, who also co-founded De Marque back in 1990. “It’s amazing to think of how far we’ve come when De Marque's beginnings were so humble. From coding out of my parent's basement to our continued positioning as truly global players, it has been an inspiring and exhilarating path. Of course, this isn't De Marque’s first foray into international markets. Our global presence has only grown since we pivoted to focus on cultural content distribution in 2008. Our mission to facilitate access to ebooks in all languages has driven us to strike major partnerships in Europe, such as in France with Eden Livres back in 2009, and in Italy with Edigita a year later in 2010. By joining up with Libranda now, we have not only strengthened our place in the Spanish-language market but globally as well. Things couldn’t be looking brighter for our Canadian company.”
Libranda will continue operating under the same name. With this integration, the De Marque team is now comprised of 50 local and international publishing industry specialists and seasoned developers who create innovative and sound solutions for the publishing industry.
About De Marque
De Marque is an international leader in the field of digital content distribution, particularly ebooks. Established in Québec City, Canada, the company’s Cantook Hub platform now distributes over 480,000 ebook titles from more than 2,300 publishers to 1,300 sales points worldwide. Cantook Station, the company’s e-lending service for libraries, is currently used in over 2,000 libraries across Canada and Europe. Since its launch in 2012, the service has registered over 6 million ebook checkouts from library users.
About Libranda
Based in Barcelona, Libranda is the main international distributor of Spanish-language digital content. It distributes over 70,000 ebooks and audiobooks over the largest network of bookstores, libraries, and digital content subscription platforms. Since its creation, the company has provided digital distribution services to publishers across Spain and Latin America. Libranda also develops and licenses white label technology platforms for selling, e-lending and subscribing to ebooks, audiobooks, and other digital content formats.
Source:
De Marque | demarque.com
For information and interview:
Philippe Béliveau | philippe@fernandezcom.ca
418 704-1559 ext. 225 | 418 559-0580