News broke this morning that Amazon intends to buy Abebooks.com, the Victoria-based online bookselling network. From the official release:
The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close before the end of the fourth quarter of 2008.
AbeBooks will continue to function as a stand-alone operation based in Victoria, British Columbia. AbeBooks will maintain all of its websites, including its Canadian website with Canada-specific content, such as reviews of Canadian-authored books and interviews of Canadian writers.
For Canadian observers, that reference to “regulatory approvals” will of course jump out. The question is whether Abebooks would be considered a bookseller, and thus subject to Investment Canada rules prohibiting foreign ownership. Watch Q&Q Omni early next week for a full story.
Abebooks has been foreign owned since 2005 when Burda purchased it.