Bloomsbury Publishing : acquires Head of Zeus

London, 2 June 2021

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, the leading independent publisher, today announces that it has completed the acquisition of the issued share capital of Head of Zeus Limited.

Head of Zeus is an independent publisher of genre fiction and narrative non-fiction and children's books, based in London. It has published many bestsellers, won literary prizes and industry awards. Its best-selling authors include Dan Jones, Cixin Liu, Victoria Hislop, and Lesley Thomson, and Elodie Harper, whose The Wolf Den went last week to number 5 in The Times bestseller list. Cixin Liu's bestselling science fiction trilogy, The Three-Body Problem, is being adapted for Netflix by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, creators of HBO's Game of Thrones.

This acquisition will provide a strong addition to Bloomsbury's thriving Consumer division and support our long term Consumer growth strategy, with new high quality authors and effective publishing across all formats, including e-book and audio.

Nigel Newton, Chief Executive of Bloomsbury, commented:

'Head of Zeus's entrepreneurial and innovative approach to publishing, and its wide range of trade titles, will make a strong addition to Bloomsbury's own. Bloomsbury will be able to provide the scale and digital platforms to boost Head of Zeus' success while operating as an independent imprint within the Bloomsbury Consumer division. We look forward to welcoming Head of Zeus' great authors and talented staff to Bloomsbury and working with them in the years to come.'

Anthony Cheetham, Chairman, Head of Zeus commented:

'After nine vigorous years as an independent publisher, I believe that Head of Zeus, our authors, our staff and our shareholders have found the right long term home for our company with Bloomsbury.

I have known Nigel Newton for more than thirty years. We share many of the same values: creative publishing, unique content and beautiful books. And an entrepreneurial spirit that values innovation above conformity. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc is itself unique as the only British book publisher listed on the London Stock Exchange.

I would like to express my gratitude to all our stakeholders for their support since Head of Zeus was launched in 2012, and my thanks to Bloomsbury for opening the door to further growth and opportunity in the years ahead.'

NOTES TO EDITORS

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc is a leading independent publishing house, established in 1986, with authors who have won the Nobel, Pulitzer and Booker Prizes, and is the originating publisher and custodian of the Harry Potter series. Bloomsbury has offices in London, New York, New Delhi, Oxford and Sydney.

Head of Zeus

Head of Zeus is an independent publishing house which sprung into existence in 2012. Based in Clerkenwell, London, but with a global reach, Head of Zeus have published nearly 100 #1 bestsellers around the world, won 24 literary prizes and two industry awards.