Québec (QC), May 31 2022 — De Marque, a leader in ebook services based in Canada, announces an agreement to acquire Cyberlibris, a French pioneer in digital library services for academic and corporate markets.
For De Marque’s publishing partners who specialize in technical and scientific content, this acquisition means a major expansion of the scope of marketing activities.
In addition to benefiting from finely-tuned platforms that are well established in academic and professional circles, publishers will see new international growth opportunities enabled by Cyberlibris’ presence throughout North America, Latin America, French-speaking Europe, Spain and several francophone African countries.
In 2013, Cyberlibris and De Marque began their partnership by signing an agreement where Canadian publishers represented by De Marque could distribute their titles to Cyberlibris’ client libraries. The success of this partnership consolidated the relationship between both companies, driven by the common vision of their founders.
Remarkable international growth
De Marque is experiencing remarkable international growth, thanks to strategic acquisitions that are part of its long-term plan to become a tech leader in the world of digital distribution and e-reading. This growth plan, initiated in 2018, now includes Spanish-language digital content distributor Libranda in Spain and digital bookstore Feedbooks in France, as well as the mobile reading app Aldiko.
In addition, the company confirms that it has reached an agreement with its financial partners, CIBC and BDC Capital, to raise $10 million to support its growth. This major financial contribution confirms the company’s role as an international leader in the development of technology for the publishing industry.
De Marque is intensifying its research and development activities for its various distribution platforms, which include their content distribution service (designed for publishers and bookstores) and its library e-lending services for both public and school libraries. The company will notably be able to accelerate its strategy of acquiring businesses with products that integrate coherently and synergistically with its own technological ecosystem. The objective is to consolidate De Marque’s offer by diversifying the types of content it manages and to ensure its presence in new international markets.
Citations
“I am happy to see the company that I founded more than twenty years ago is acquired by a group for whom I have the utmost respect. We share the same vision and the opportunities for synergies between the two organizations are obvious. I feel much pride in providing the publishing houses that have accompanied Cyberlibris throughout these years, without whom none of this would have been possible, access to a digital platform of worldwide influence. I know how essential and powerful trust is in this business. With this transaction, I am pleased that we are giving this trust unparalleled momentum.”
– Eric Briys, co-founder, Cyberlibris.
“I am proud of the successes achieved by the Cyberlibris team since 2001. As a historical supporter of the institutional subscription model and streaming-based reading, Cyberlibris is today the key player in the field of digital libraries in France and on the African continent. By joining De Marque, which shares our vision and core values, Cyberlibris will be able to accelerate its development, strengthen its partnerships in the publishing world and enrich the experience offered to its millions of subscribers. I am particularly pleased and excited to help continue the Cyberlibris adventure within De Marque.”
– François Lascaux, CEO and co-founder, Cyberlibris.
“Today, I am proud to welcome Cyberlibris as a new member of the De Marque family. When I founded the company over 30 years ago, I had no idea we would be where we are today. If we chose to integrate Cyberlibris and its teams into our group, it is because we are convinced that their expertise, professionalism, forward-thinking and ambitions are perfectly aligned with our own. We have great plans on an international scale that could make Cyberlibris one of the flagships of our industry, allowing all our collaborators and partners to shine on the world stage.”
– Marc Boutet, President and co-founder, De Marque.
“De Marque, which has experienced strong growth for several years, is a leader in the field of digital content distribution. For over thirty years, Marc Boutet and his management team have demonstrated determination and innovation in a constantly evolving market to develop a service offering that stands out from the competition. CIBC is therefore very proud to once again support the company in its expansion plans, which include the acquisition of companies abroad.”
– Guillaume Parent and Jean-Sébastien Houde, CIBC Commercial Banking.
“De Marque relies on a strong team dedicated to the ebook industry. This transaction will support its international growth and the diversification of its content types. It will also result in increased digital adoption, research and development of its platforms and digital lending in public and school libraries. BDC is proud to continue to support this great company.”
– Charles Blouin, Director, Growth & Transition Capital, BDC Capital.
About De Marque :
De Marque is a leading distributor of digital cultural content, primarily ebooks and audiobooks. Operating out of Quebec City for over 30 years, the company now distributes more than 3 million digital books, marketed by more than 300 publishers in more than 1,300 outlets worldwide. The company has also developed Cantook Libraries, an ebook lending solution for public libraries, used across Canada, Europe, Spain and the United States. This same technology powers the PRETNUMERIQUE.CA service in Quebec, which has so far served over 15 million loans.
The De Marque team is 70 members strong, with people based in Canada, Spain, France, the United States, Mexico, Columbia, Morocco, Germany and Hong Kong.
About Cyberlibris :
Established in Paris (France) in 2001, Cyberlibris innovates by creating an ebook ecosystem based on an institutional subscription model for libraries.
The three main families of libraries are:
- Educational and academic
(such as koobyvox.com, scholarvox.com, cegeps.scholarvox.com, univ.scholarvox.com - Professional
(such as business-vox.com, bibliotheque.revue-banque.fr) - Public reading
(such as bibliovox.com)
Over a thousand publishers have endorsed the Cyberlibris model. Thus, a whole community of students, teachers, librarians, professionals and reading enthusiasts benefit from a simple, mobile solution with no restriction on the number of simultaneous loans of the same book. To date, more than one billion pages have been read through a business model that respects the intellectual property of authors and publishers.
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SOURCE :
Amélie Chabot | Management and Corporate Projects Coordinator – De Marque
amelie@demarque.com | 1 418 454-8009
De Marque | demarque.com
MEDIA CONTACTS :
Anne-Marie-A. Savoie | annemarie@fernandezcom.ca
C. 418 934-7448
Alexandra Mc Donald | alexandra@fernandezcom.ca
C. 418 271-7600