synopsis: Najafi Companies has sold its majority interest in Direct Brands, parent company of Columbia House, Book-of-the-Month Club and other book clubs, to Pride Tree Holdings. Direct Brands is one of the largest direct-to-consumer distributors of media products in the U.S.

synopsis: OverDrive, Inc., announced it has acquired Australian ebook company Booki.sh. Booki.sh is the developer of a cloud-based platform for distributing, selling and reading popular ebooks from anywhere and on any device with a modern web browser.

synopsis: The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. announced the sale of substantially all of its Lifestyle and Entertainment Direct business to Mosaic Media Investment Partners LLC. The sale includes Direct Holdings Americas, Saguaro Road Records and many of the assets of Direct Entertainment Media Group.

synopsis: Indie distributor Shout! Factory has acquired Oregon-based home entertainment company Timeless Media Group Inc. for undisclosed terms.

synopsis: RLJ Acquisition, Inc. has completed the acquisition of Image Entertainment, Inc. Image Entertainment, Inc. is a leading independent licensee and distributor of entertainment programming in North America.

synopsis: Image Entertainment, Inc., a leading independent licensee, producer and distributor of entertainment programming in North America, announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Nyx Acquisitions, Inc. to sell Image in a transaction valued at approximately $100 million.

synopsis: Following heads of agreement signed in December 2007, the Lagardère Group and Butler Capital Partners announce the signature of final agreements on a majority takeover of Virgin Group by Butler Capital Partners.

synopsis: Inception Media Group, LLC announced it has acquired Strategic Film Partners through its newly formed subsidiary, Inception Film Partners, LLC. Strategic Film Partners, co-founded in 2004 by Alex Barder, is a global film sales company involved in motion picture financing, production and distribution.

synopsis: The management team at Ealing Metro, the sale and finance banner owned by Ealing Studios and financiers Prescience, has acquired a majority stake in the company. Ealing Metro is a leading UK-based independent sales agent focused on delivering quality, commercial films to the global market.

synopsis: Noble Entertainment, the Swedish distributor that has released more than 600 films since 2002, has been bought by Denmark’s Mis. Label and Norway’s Star Media Entertainment. The pair had been Noble’s acquisition partners since 2007 and the three companies have bought rights together for titles such as The Expendables and Silver Linings Playbook.

synopsis: Asiasons Investment Ltd entered into an agreement to acquire a 70% stake in Hub Media Group. Hub Media Group produces and distributes content and programming to broadcast, consumer licensing, and new media technologies worldwide.

synopsis: Participant Media has entered into an agreement to acquire the distribution assets of Halogen TV from The Inspiration Networks. Halogen TV is an empowering television network that entertains and motivates individuals looking to be the change they want to see in the world.

synopsis: Entertainment One Ltd., the number one wholesale distributor of home entertainment products in Canada, announced plans to acquire Alliance Films, a leading independent film distributor in Canada, Britain and Spain.

synopsis: Australia’s Hoyts Group has sold its film distribution arm, Hoyts Distribution to French giant Studio Canal, marking the first foray down under by a major European distributor.

synopsis: Melbourne label Aztec Music has been bought by a consortium of 'strategic' investors led by Paul Dainty. Aztec Music engages in music distribution.

synopsis: Alliance Entertainment, LLC has acquired Audiolife, the music industry's leading direct-to-fan fulfillment company. Alliance Entertainment is the top distributor of home entertainment (audio and video) software in the U.S., the fourth-largest music account, and an accomplished distribution channel for apparel, hardware and accessories.

synopsis: Gaiam, Inc., a lifestyle media company, announced that it completed its previously announced acquisition of Vivendi Entertainment from Universal Music Group Distribution Corp., for $13.4 million plus net working capital. Vivendi Entertainment is a full service independent DVD and digital distribution company operating in the US and Canada.

synopsis: INgrooves, a leading provider of digital distribution, marketing and technology services to the global music community, announced that it has acquired Fontana Distribution from Universal Music Group (UMG). Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

synopsis: Sales Benchmark Index, a sales consulting firm specializing in sales force effectiveness and sales management has acquired Buyerology, LLC., a leader in helping Fortune 1000 companies to create and implement buyer personas to guide buyer strategies.

synopsis: The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation announced that it has acquired the outstanding shares of Avox Limited, a reference data business located in the U.K.

synopsis: The publisher of Seattle Business, Seattle Magazine, Northwest Meetings and Events, Seattle Bride and Urban Pages will merge the assets of Washington CEO, owned by Sabey Corporation, into its Seattle Business operations and begin producing the titles under the Tiger Oak Publications banner.

synopsis: NetWorld Alliance LLC, and JD Events LLC have announced that JD Events will acquire the trade show assets of NetWorld Alliance. The acquisition is being made for an undisclosed amount of cash and other terms included in a strategic agreement between the two companies.

synopsis: ProQuest Information and Learning announced the sale of its directories program, published by Toronto-based Micromedia ProQuest, to Grey House Publishing of Millerton, New York.

synopsis: Booker T. Equity Limited Liability Company has purchased LifeWin, Inc., Get Motivated Seminars and related entities. Get Motivated Seminars, Inc. organizes business, motivational, and educational seminars.

synopsis: Sunshine Holdings Corporation today announced the merger of its Sunshine Custom Publishing, Inc. division with True North Custom Publishing LLC of Chattanooga, TN. This transaction will unite two fast-growth organizations, expanding the combined company’s presence as America’s largest custom health care publishing company.

synopsis: The Learning Annex, LLC, the leading provider of adult, self-improvement education in the United States, and Apax Partners, L.P., one of the world's leading private equity investment groups, today announced that funds advised by Apax Partners acquired a significant minority interest in The Learning Annex.

synopsis: “We are pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement with Discovery Marketing Associates to acquire the following Discovery Traveling Shows: the 12 National Market Weeks, the West Coast Business Gift & Promotional Products Showcase, four Client-Distributor Shows and the Discovery name,” said Matthew Cohn, ASI Show President.

synopsis: Thomson Reuters Accelus announced that it has acquired the governance, risk and compliance e-learning business of Knowledge Platform, a leading provider of compliance assessment and regulatory implementation learning programs within financial services and other highly-regulated industries in Asia and the Middle East.

synopsis: Journal Inc. has announced it has acquired the assets of Mississippi Business Journal, the state’s leading business publication, from Minnesota-based The Dolan Company. Based in Jackson, the 33-year-old weekly newspaper has a print circulation of 5,400 and averages more than 70,000 unique visitors monthly to its website, msbusiness.com.

synopsis: Emerald Group Publishing Limited is proud to announce the addition of the Multinational Business Review to its management research portfolio. Previously published by the Boeing Institute of International Business at Saint Louis University, USA, the journal focuses upon the strategy, operations and performance of the multinational enterprise.

synopsis: Bloomberg L.P., the world's most trusted source of information for businesses and professionals, has completed the acquisition of BusinessWeek from The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. BusinessWeek is a global source of business insight that inspires leaders to turn ideas into action.

synopsis: Merkle, one of the nation’s largest and fastest growing database marketing agencies, announced that its wholly owned subsidiary CognitiveDATA is acquiring the Minneapolis-based catalog marketing services firm CMS Direct.

synopsis: The Boulder County Business Report has reached an agreement to be purchased by Brown Publishing Co., a family-owned publishing company based in Ohio that owns daily, weekly and business publications.

synopsis: Dolan Media Company said today that it acquired the assets of Mississippi Business Journal, the state's leading business publication, from Venture Publications, Inc.

synopsis: Haymarket Media Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Britain’s largest privately held magazine publisher, has acquired Courtenay Communication Corp.’s DM News, the leading U.S. trade publication covering direct, interactive and database marketing.

synopsis: WPP's GroupM today announced the acquisition of Chicago-based IEG, Inc., the world's leading provider of research, analytics, strategic counsel and training on sponsorship, strategic alliances and promotional partnerships.

synopsis: Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. has agreed to purchase the New England Business Bulletin, a monthly business newspaper serving Southeastern Massachusetts and Eastern Rhode Island, from the New England Publishing Group Inc.

synopsis: Resource Nation, the quality leader in connecting businesses to pre-screened vendors, announced that it has acquired the brand and associated assets of Business.com, Inc., the leading online destination for business buyers looking for business-to-business (B2B) solutions.