Cool Springs Press, publisher of many gardening titles, has been sold back to its original founder by Thomas Nelson, Inc. The move came less than four months after Nelson was acquired by a private equity firm, InterMedia Partners. Nelson CEO Michael Hyatt said that Cool Springs books are sold in outlets where the firm can't sell its other products (such as home improvement stores) and that the content can't be exploited by the company's other product divisions.
Cool Springs now returns to its original owner, Roger Waynick, who sold the imprint to Nelson in 2001 and has worked as a consultant for them in the past several years. Waynick, president of Waynick Books, said that Cool Springs has "the finest library of garden books available in the country" and he believes those assets will allow the company to grow internally and also through other strategic acquisitions. Waynick bought the entire 200 title Cool Springs backlist, but he told Publishers Weekly that gardening books will become a smaller part of Waynick's sales. "We are looking at growing the business by publishing books where the consumer can be identified, be they cooks, sports fans, or anyone else we can reach," he said.
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