Arthur Frommer 're-acquires' travel brand

04.04.13 | Bookseller Staff

The travel guidebook brand Frommer's has been reacquired from Google by its founder, Arthur Frommer, according to reports, with Google licensing 'certain' content back to the publishing business so it can continue to publish guidebooks.

In a statement to the Associated Press, Frommer said it was "a very happy time" and confirmed plans to publish the budget travel guides in e-book and print formats, as well as continuing the Frommers.com website. It had earlier been reported that Google would discountinue the publishing operations of Frommer's after integrating the travel content into its search engine.

In a statement on the latest move, Google said: "We're focused on providing high-quality local information to help people quickly discover and share great places, like a nearby restaurant or the perfect vacation destination. That's why we've spent the last several months integrating the travel content we acquired from Wiley into Google+ Local and our other Google services. We can confirm that we have returned to the Frommer's brand to its founder and are licensing certain travel content to him."
The details of the deal have not yet been reported.
Google acquired the travel brand from John Wiley & Sons in August 2012 for $22m (£14.5m), but reportedly ceased to publish the guides in print format late last month, although Google declined to comment at the time.

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