www.wordsmithmedia.net
E-Quill
The E-Newsletter of Wordsmith Media, Inc.
June 3, 2012
Mergers and Acquisitions
There are often many items that we have a desire to report but can't until we have further developments. Fortunately, we have resolution on at least two items that we can report this week. For some time now, we have been waiting for two of these items which involve mergers and acquisitions that have now developed.
First, we were informed this week of the final pieces in place for the acquisition of Rider Circulation Services (RCS) by Curtis Circulation Company (curtiscirc.com) which is now the new hard copy magazine distributor for Sacred History Magazine. RCS was Wordsmith's distributor to retail stores since 2005 but many of the larger stores such as Borders have gone out of business. The publishing industry has undergone the most dramatic changes in its history and waiting for these changes to develop has not been easy. This new acquisition is very good news for Wordsmith as Curtis Circulation is one of the largest magazine distributors in the world. We were notified this week by Curtis that they are excited to begin working with us and getting Sacred History Magazine to the major bookstore chains such as Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million, two giants that have adapted to the new publishing and distribution market. Although waiting is sometimes the hardest part, it now appears we're in good hands for our strategy of a combination of digital and hardcopy distribution.
Second, we were informed that our stock transfer agent, New York Stock Transfer, has been acquired by Issuer Direct (issuerdirect.com). The SEC and FINRA have approved all stock related items for WDIS to be transferred. Issuer Direct is also a publicly traded company under ticker symbol ISDR and announced the new acquisition in a recent press release (see here: ISDR Announcement). In recent discussions with Issuer Direct, we are pleased to begin working with the new group in the process of up-listing the stock to a higher exchange. This new stock transfer agency understands the challenges of the stock market and the complexities involved as they are publicly traded as well. We are thankful that both of these key goals of Wordsmith are now in a position to see progress. We are thankful to all shareholders for their patience as these items have been in further development.
Wordsmith Product Development Team
With so many new developments underway, we would like to acknowledge the many talented and experienced people involved in product development. They include: Dr. James Rietveld heading up resource development for the various outlets including academic press, social media and digital and hardcopy publishing. Mark Dane for editorial development and Darryl Lilly in graphic design. Reid Boates, with over 30 years of literary agency experience has been working with several New York Times best-selling authors and has meticulously developed Wordsmith Books for its launch as a key player in the newly-evolved industry. In addition to support staff in Malta, Marina Ploaie has played a vital role as international support coordinator in Europe and Kavita Golia has begun to build the advertising base in the United Kingdom.
As for our acquisitions, Anthony Cunningham has played a key role with Highland Loch Press both as an editor and publisher and further, as mentioned in the previous E-Quill, Timothy Abraham, who is still battling health complications in a Dallas hospital, has been highly instrumental in the strong relationship formed between Wordsmith Media, Inc. and Highland Loch Press. There are many others that play key roles in the administrative aspect of the business, but these individuals involved in the editorial, publishing and advertising areas have been vital to our success moving forward.
WDIS Update
WDIS closed the week up nearly 62% from the previous period. The stock closed at .13 on Friday after moving from .08 to .10 the previous day. Market capitalization for the company ended the week at
$23.3 million USD.
