(NASHVILLE, TN) Thomas Nelson, Inc. and Integrity Media, Inc. announced today that Thomas Nelson has signed a definitive purchase agreement for the acquisition of Integrity Publishers, the wholly-owned book publishing subsidiary of Integrity Media. The transaction is scheduled to close on September 28, 2006. Details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Thomas Nelson is the largest provider of inspirational books and live events in the world. Integrity Publishers, founded in 2001, is one of the fastest growing companies in the Christian publishing sector.
Byron Williamson, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Integrity Publishers, stated: “We have made phenomenal progress from a standing start over the past five years. At the heart of our success is the select list of authors with whom we are honored to work, including: David Jeremiah, Beth Moore, John Townsend, Henry Cloud, Gary Smalley, Emerson Eggerichs, Jerry Jenkins, and Stephen Elkins. We are the only other publisher, aside from Thomas Nelson, to represent Max Lucado.”
“We see many opportunities for continued growth, but these will require significant capital investment,” Mr. Williamson noted. “Once Mike Coleman, Integrity Media’s Chief Executive Officer, and I decided to seek outside investment, we carefully considered our options. Thomas Nelson quickly became the logical choice. With its ability to publish our authors in multiple formats, a dedicated sales force in every channel, a state-of-the-art distribution center, and its access to capital, we knew we had the right partner. The fact that the company was located in Nashville was an added bonus.”
Michael S. Hyatt, Nelson’s Chief Executive Officer said: “Mike [Coleman] and Byron have done a remarkable job taking Integrity Publishers from start-up to its present position of prominence and influence in the field of evangelical publishing. We are committed to doing everything we can to continue to serve their authors and extend their influence.
“We at Thomas Nelson welcome Byron and the other members of his team,” continued Mr. Hyatt. “Byron will become Executive Vice President for Strategic Development at Nelson. His role will be to create and pursue growth opportunities for Nelson, both internal and external.” Joey Paul, Integrity Publishers’ Senior Vice President and Publisher will report to Tami Heim, Nelson’s Executive Vice President and Chief Publishing Officer. Rob Birkhead, Integrity Publishers’ Senior Vice President of Marketing, will report to Jerry Park, Nelson’s Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. These leaders, along with other team members, will continue working with Integrity Publishers’ authors, but now as part of the Thomas Nelson team.
Integrity Media will continue to own and operate its other divisions including Integrity Music and INO Records. Integrity Music and INO Records are the top independent labels in the Christian music marketplace commanding 13.5% of the label market share according to Nielsen-Soundscan. Both labels will continue to be distributed by Provident-Integrity Distribution to Christian retail accounts and Columbia Records/Sony-BMG Distribution to mainstream retail accounts.
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Thomas Nelson, Inc., based in Nashville, TN, is a leading publisher, producer and distributor of products emphasizing Christian, inspirational and family value themes and believes it is the largest publisher of Bibles and inspirational products.
Integrity Media, based in Mobile, AL, is a privately-owned media company that produces, publishes and distributes Christian music, films, and related materials that are sold throughout the United States and in over 160 other countries.
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