Meeting on potential sale of Angus & Robertson underway

A meeting on the potential sale of Angus & Robertson is underway in Melbourne today.

John Melluish of administrators Ferrier Hodgson told SmartCompany this afternoon that A&R franchises are hearing about potential options today. 

Collins Booksellers and Dymocks, which have a combined market share of more than 20%, have been nominated as potential buyers of A&R.

Dymocks told SmartCompany this morning it was not involved in talks today.

Ferrier Hodgson this week said it expected talks on the sale of the remaining A&R stores to be finished within a fortnight. It added that negotiations continued with a “number of book retailing specialists in relation to both the franchise network and the online business.”

It also announced the closure of 42 A&R stores this week, leading to 519 job losses. The closures leave just 19 company-owned stores alongside the 48-strong franchise network.

Ferrier Hodgson says the fall in the franchise store numbers – from 51 listed in the call for expressions of interest on March 11 – was based on the franchises’ decision to close.

REDgroup, owned by Pacific Equity Partners, was once Australia’s largest bookseller with 20% market share.