The largest library distributor of ebooks and digital audio in the US and Canada has just changed hands. OverDrive was sold by its Japanese owner, Rakuten, to KKR, a private-equity firm. Because the news was released on Christmas Eve, some saw the development as ominous, an effort to bury the story. OverDrive CEO Steve Potash remains with the company so far and has been only positive about the development, and the continuity in leadership has allayed some concerns. But with private-equity ownership of such a major library distributor—one that serves 95 percent of public libraries—librarians and industry observers worry the public good will inevitably suffer.
KKR owns a range of related digital media companies, such as RBmedia (one of the largest publishers and distributors of audiobooks) and Epic Games. At the American Library Association blog, Marshall Breeding writes a smart assessment of what the deal might portend, commenting, “Will OverDrive and RBmedia merge? Such a union would signal a major consolidation in the digital content industry for libraries and schools. The digital lending arena will continue to see commercial and nonprofit competition. Other players in the sector—such as bibliotheca’s cloudLibrary, ODILO, Baker & Taylor’s Axis 360, and hoopla—represent significant competition, though a possible merger would shift industry dynamics substantially.”
Another unanswered question: whether Rakuten will also sell off Kobo, the global ebook retailer it purchased in 2012. There were definite synergies in Rakuten’s ownership of both OverDrive and Kobo, but the sale of OverDrive may indicate Rakuten’s intent to leave the digital books arena altogether.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
