CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 19 LAWFUEL – US Business news– B…

CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 19 LAWFUEL - US Business news-- Baker & Taylor, Inc., the world's largest book distributor, announced today it has completed the acquisition of the wholesale operations of Advanced Marketing Services, the premier distributor of books to membership wholesale clubs. Advanced Marketing has been in proceedings under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code since December 29, 2006. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware, approved the transaction Friday March 9. Baker & Taylor's acquisition includes Advanced Marketing assets through which it distributes best-sellers, children's books, culinary titles, reference works, and other books to membership warehouse clubs. Baker & Taylor also acquired Advanced Marketing's wholesale distribution operations in the United Kingdom and in Mexico. Baker & Taylor said it would operate the warehouse club business under a new brand, Baker & Taylor Marketing Services, and intends to resume full shipping operations to the warehouse clubs on Monday March 19. Richard Willis, Baker & Taylor's chairman and chief executive officer, noted that Advanced Marketing had been the dominant wholesale book club distributor for over 20 years. "The Advanced Marketing acquisition is a perfect fit with Baker & Taylor and gives us a formidable presence in this industry," noted Willis. "At Baker & Taylor," Willis said, "we have built the world's largest book wholesaler by focusing on the needs of our customers. Advanced Marketing's employees have shown the same dedication and passion for their customers, and we are pleased to be able to give them the opportunity to continue to grow their business." Baker & Taylor, founded in 1828, is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Advanced Marketing's headquarters is in San Diego, California. Baker & Taylor Marketing Services will continue to keep its primary office in San Diego and operate warehouses in Indianapolis, Indiana and Sacramento, California. Baker & Taylor is a portfolio company of Castle Harlan Partners IV, L.P., an investment fund organized and managed by Castle Harlan, Inc., a leading private equity firm based in New York. Castle Harlan acquired Baker & Taylor last summer. Castle Harlan, founded in 1987, invests in controlling interests in the buyout and development of middle-market companies in North America and Europe. Its team of 20 investment professionals has completed 48 acquisitions since its inception with a total value in excess of $9 billion. The firm traces its roots to the start of the institutionalized private-equity business in the late 1960s. Castle Harlan's current portfolio companies, which employ more than 42,000 people, include Ames True Temper, a leading manufacturer of lawn and garden tools and accessories; RathGibson, a leader in the manufacture of stainless steel and high alloy precision-welded tubing, and Perkins & Marie Callender's, Inc., which operates and franchises 618 family restaurants in the United States and Canada. .

CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 19 LAWFUEL – US Business news– B…

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