The Bookseller.com

2nd December 2008

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Suitors circle Guinness

07.12.07 Graeme Neill

Viacom and Disney have both been tipped as possible suitors for Guinness World Records, which was put up for sale by owner Hit Entertainment earlier this week.

Hit is believed to be looking for around £60m for the company, with publishing groups Random House, HarperCollins and Macmillan—which handles Guinness World Records' distribution—also tagged as potential buyers by industry observers.

In addition to the company's successful annual—this year's runaway Christmas hit—the business collects and collates record-breaking data and holds events. In the year to end-July 2006 it reported a profit of £4.63m, up from £4.31m the previous year. It had a turnover of £14.4m during the period, up from £13.8m the previous year.

Bill Mitchell, from publishing broker Bertoli Mitchell, said he expected the company to receive plenty of interest from potential buyers.

One industry observer said he believed the £60m price tag was too high. "It will be a very interesting auction if a number of bidders emerge," he said.

Graeme Neill Guinness World Records