Sainsbury’s has sold off its 64% stake in e-book social network Anobii to Italian publishing group Mondadori.
The retailer originally acquired its stake in 2012 from HMV Group. In a statement yesterday, Sainsbury’s said Anobii had a million regular users, 300,000 of whom were based in Italy.
“Although anobii.com has successfully established itself as a truly international social network for bookworms, over the years the website has become increasingly popular among Italians, so it made perfect sense that a company like Mondadori took ownership of the website and brand,” said Tim Lennox, managing director at eBooks by Sainsbury’s.
Anobii allows users to share their libraries of e-books and blog about books they have read.
Sainsbury’s said the sale would allow it to focus on its e-book platform eBooks by Sainsburys, which this week launched an online book club.
“We have some ambitious and exciting plans for eBooks by Sainsbury’s and this deal will allow us to concentrate our energies on driving growth in this digital UK market,” Lennox added.
The move comes as Sainsbury’s continues to ramp up its activities in the digital arena. Last month its director of online, digital and cross channel Jon Rudoe was promoted to the Sainsbury’s board.
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