Christian Bourgois Éditeur is joining the Madrigall group, the two entities announced in a joint press release. The publishing house created by Christian Bourgois in 1966, independent since 1992 and taken over in 2019 by the company Premier Investissement managed by Olivier Mitterrandwill now be chaired by Antoine Gallimard and integrated into its family publishing group.
“This acquisition confirms the great commitment of our companies”
« I am very happy to welcome this magnificent publishing house and its authors from all backgrounds into our group.the latter said in a statement. I had a very friendly relationship with Christian Bourgois.. (…) This acquisition confirms the great commitment of our publishing houses, alongside translators, in favor of the dissemination of foreign literature.” he continued, adding I am grateful to Olivier Mitterrand, after Dominique Bourgois, for having made it possible to open this new page in the history of a very fine publishing house, which has seen its turnover more than double in five years. ».
With a turnover of 2.9 million euros in 2022, the Christian Bourgois group, which appears in 56th place in the latest ranking of French publishers Books Weekly, ranks just behind Minuit, one of the Madrigall group’s latest acquisitions in 2021. It is a coherent acquisition, with very nice brands that complement those of the group. “, comments an experienced editor.
Already synergies
Two entities that already have common synergies, particularly at the commercial level. Already distributed and broadcast by the Madrigall group (CDE/Sodis), Christian Bourgois Éditeur and its subsidiary Globe will strengthen, through the diversity and excellence of their catalogue, the presence of the Madrigall group in the foreign and French literature sector. “, the press release states.
The Madrigall group also assures that Valentine Gay et Jean Mattern respectively retain the literary direction of Globe and Christian Bourgois Éditeur. The latter is returning to a group he knew well at Gallimard before moving to Grasset until 2022. He is not the only one to have commuted between rue du Bac, Bourgois’ headquarters, and rue Gaston Gallimard, not far away. The publisher of the Scribes collection, Clement Ribesspent several years alongside Valentine Gay before.
A promising Pocket launch
Specializing in foreign literature, Christian Bourgois Éditeur is notably the French publisher of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Ringsfirst published in French in 1972), Fernando Pessoa, Richard Brautigan, Toni Morrison (Nobel Prize for Literature 1993) and Antonio Lobo AntunesLast March, the group developed a Pocket collection entitled Satellites, which was well received by booksellers with 16 titles already published and around ten planned by November, according to data from Electre Data Services.
A catalog of prestigious authors
In nearly sixty years of publishing and up to today, Christian Bourgois Éditeur has compiled a remarkable catalogue of some 4,500 titles and 1,200 authors, among which, in addition to those already mentioned, are: Ernst Jünger, Georges Perec, Jean-Christophe Bailly, William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Witold Gombrowicz, Susan Sontag, John Fante, Salman Rushdie (The Satanic Verses1988), Jim Morrison, Hanif Kureishi, Peter Handke (Nobel Prize in Literature 2019), César Aira, Jon Fosse (Nobel Prize in Literature 2023), Peter Stamm et Jón Kalman Stefánsson…
Created in 2013 by Valentine Gay and taken over in 2021 to become a subsidiary of Christian Bourgois, Editions Globe is pursuing a policy of discovery, particularly in narrative non-fiction.
Investments in multiple brands
« We are placing these two houses in the best possible hands, and are thus assured that they will continue their fine journey in the noble domain of literature. “, added for his part Olivier MitterrandThe latter, aged 81, had bought Dominique Bourgois the group in 2019, twelve years after the death of her husband, the founder. He had invested in several brands, counting up to five, with Matin Calme, En exergue – part within the Media-Participations group -, and Dalva in addition to Globe before gradually reducing the field by keeping only the latter.
Waiting for Humensis?
« The size (from the Bourgois group, editor’s note) does not pose a problem for concentrationjudge Jean-Clement Texieran investment banker specializing in publishing. This is entirely complementary to an acquisition of Humensis, a general public and school, for the strengthening of the distribution subsidiary” of the Madrigall group, he explains. Indeed, the latter remains in the running, according to the latest news, with the Albin Michel group to acquire the group officially put up for sale at the end of the winter by its owner Scor and whose sale process, complicated by the freezing of the school reform project at the government level, is continuing.
Before being taken over by businessman Olivier Mitterrand in 2019, Christian Bourgois Editeur had come close to integrating Humensis, then headed by its founder Denis Kessleror the Libella group.
