DGAP-Adhoc: Bastei Lübbe AG: Bastei Lübbe AG is

Bastei Lübbe AG / Key word(s): Investment 22.05.2014 17:25 Dissemination of an Ad hoc announcement according to § 15 WpHG, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cologne/Munich, 22nd of May 2014. Bastei Lübbe AG, a publicly held company listed on the Frankfurt Exchange's Prime Standard segment (ISIN DE000A1X3YY0), has made another important investment in its digital range. In this case it has acquired a majority share of BookRix GmbH & Co. KG of Munich. BookRix is already one of the leading self-publishing platforms in Germany and has recently established a foothold in the USA as well. At present roughly 1,000 new eBooks are published each month on the platform. The eBooks distributed by BookRix via its proprietary platform reach its base of some 560,000 users. Another 4,000 new user register each month as well. BookRix also delivers content to 60 leading online stores, including market leaders like Amazon and iTunes. Demand for self-published works is enormous: Three titles from the BookRix universe climbed onto Amazon's Top 10 charts in the past six months alone. The Munich-based company forecasts that it will sell more than one million eBooks this year. More than a third of the downloads are made using forward-looking mobile end devices like smartphones. All efforts will be made to maintain the company's rapid growth. Through its investment, Bastei Lübbe is seeking to link the classical publishing business to the new self-publishing concept, and in the process expand its digital arm and embrace greater internationalisation. Through BookRix, Bastei Lübbe also gains access to a large and highly active book community in Germany, allowing for direct interaction with the primarily young and extremely engaged readership. Both companies can now work together to realise their shared vision of modern self-publishing, where authorial independence is supplemented optimally by the classic core competencies of a publishing house. The operative collaboration is effective immediately. The sides have agreed not to disclose any information about the purchase price for the controlling stake. About Bastei Lübbe AG: Bastei Lübbe AG is a publically traded media company organised around its publishing venture. The Cologne-based company currently has around 340 employees. It publishes books, audio books, ebooks and digital products in both the literary and popular science genres, as well as serialised novels and puzzle magazines. Bastei Lübbe is also actively involved in brand licensing and the development, production and distribution of gift, decoration and merchandising articles. Bastei Lübbe has for many years enjoyed an almost unbroken streak as the market leader in the growing segment of hard-cover literature; in 2013 its literary eBooks division was also ranked number one on the market. 2013 saw the company's 60th anniversary celebration and its launch as a publicly traded company. Shares of Bastei Lübbe AG are listed in the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (WKN A1X3YY, ISIN DE000A1X3YY0). About BookRix GmbH & Co. KG: With more than 560,000 registered users, BookRix is currently one of Germany's largest self-publishing platforms. As a shop-independent provider, BookRix also delivers content from its authors to roughly 60 different stores - including market leaders Amazon and iTunes. To date the Munich-based company has delivered some 6,500 self-published titles to retailers, including many notable successes at Amazon: in the last six months alone 9 titles from BookRix have reached the Top 50 on the Kindle Charts, with 5 hitting the Top 20 and 3 even claiming spots on the Top 10 Amazon Best-Seller lists. BookRix forecasts selling more than one million eBooks in 2014. Contact at Bastei Lübbe AG: Barbara Fischer Director Press and Event Marketing Tel.: +49 (0) 221 / 82 00 28 50 Email: barbara.fischer@luebbe.de 22.05.2014 DGAP's Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Company: Bastei Lübbe AG Schanzenstraße 6 - 20 51063 Köln Germany Phone: 02 21 / 82 00 - 0 Fax: 02 21 / 82 00 - 1900 E-mail: investorrelations@luebbe.de Internet: www.luebbe.de ISIN: DE000A1X3YY0, DE000A1K0169 WKN: A1X3YY, A1K016 Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, Stuttgart End of Announcement DGAP News-Service ---------------------------------------------------------------------------