Wottakar’s urge to merge may go forward

But if it does, it won’t happen until Friday, which leaves the UK publishing industry on tenterhooks, to say the least.

The lowdown, for those not paying attention? HMV is the parent company of Waterstone’s, that behemoth bookstore chain that’s been growing at a superfast clip since its founding in 1982. Meanwhile, Ottakar’s expanded at a similar rate since its inception in 1987. HMV wants to buy out the latter to merge with the former, which would create a stranglehold on over a quarter of all UK bookstores. And not surprisingly, many publishers and authors are pissed, since W’s Scott Pack — the head buyer — already wields enough power to decide which books those stores will stock.

So will the deal go ahead? It’s up to the Office of Fair Trading (think anti-trust) to decide. Naturally, many folks hope the deal gets scuttled, but it’s going to be one of the big stories to watch for, especially if you’re Scottish — where 26 of the 31 main bookshops in that country belong to the Wottakars hybrid.

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