22 juin 2012
Three French publishing groups invest $1 million in De Marque
Québec City, June 22, 2012 - De Marque announced today that three French publishing groups (Gallimard, La Martinière and Flammarion) have jointly invested $1 million so the company can strengthen its competitive position in the francophone digital book market and speed up its international development.
“This is an extremely important step in our company’s development,” said Marc Boutet, president of De Marque. “This investment confirms that the digital book distribution platform we have put in place over the past three years has earned the trust of the world’s largest publishing groups.”
“We have worked closely with De Marque over the past three years and are extremely satisfied with the spirit of partnership that our companies have created,” said Patrick Gambache, president of Eden Livres and spokesperson for the investors. “In our view, it was a natural step for us to reinforce our partnership by contributing financially to De Marque’s development amid rapid growth in the digital book market.”
The new shareholders will acquire a minority interest in De Marque, alongside other Quebec investors. De Marque’s founders and an employee group will retain a majority of the company’s shares.
The investment made by Gallimard, La Martinière and Flammarion caps off a private financing round valued at nearly $3 million, during which Economic Development Canada, Quebec’s Department of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade (MDEIE), the Cultural Enterprise Development Corporation (SODEC - Société de développement des entreprises culturelles) and the Investment Fund for Culture and Communications (FICC - Fonds d'investissement de la culture et des communications) provided De Marque with significant strategic and financial support.
About De Marque
De Marque is an international leader in the development of digital content distribution platforms.
In Quebec, De Marque develops and operates the Digital Warehouse in partnerships with the National Association of Francophone Book Publishers (ANEL). In France, Eden Livres, which includes Gallimard, La Martinière and Flammarion, uses De Marque’s distribution platform. In Italy, Edigita, which includes three of the country’s largest publishing groups (Feltrinelli, Messaggerie Italiane/GEMS and RCS/Rizzoli), also uses the platform. De Marque’s global network is made up of more than 300 publishers and some 200 points of sale.
For further information: www.demarque.com
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For further information or interview requests:
Martine Rioux
Communications Officer
martine@demarque.com
(418) 658-9143, ext. 235