NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Penguin Random House Audio, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, the world’s largest trade publisher, has acquired Playaway Products LLC, the leading provider of pre-loaded physical devices delivering digital content to the educational and institutional markets.
The acquisition was announced today by Amanda D’Acierno, President & Publisher, Penguin Random House Audio, and Gene LaMarca, CEO, Playaway Products. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
LaMarca will report to D’Acierno, who led the acquisition of Playaway Products on Penguin Random House’s behalf. Penguin Random House has been a longtime Playaway Products partner. LaMarca will continue to lead Playaway Products as a stand-alone company based in Solon, OH, with Penguin Random House Audio acting as a strategic advisor to the Playaway Products team as they continue to grow their business.
Both companies share a strong belief in the power of audio storytelling and increased accessibility to digital content, particularly within schools and libraries. Playaway Products veteran Torin Cone, VP, Sales & Marketing, will continue to lead the sales and marketing teams.
In 2005, Playaway Products invented the market for pre-loaded physical audiobook formats with the Playaway audiobook player and has since expanded their innovative portfolio of proprietary devices to include Wonderbook read-alongs, Launchpad learning tablets, and Lock eReaders, which they provide to more than 40,000 public libraries, schools, the US military, and government agencies. Playaway Products’ pre-loaded devices are uniquely suited to the high circulation needs of institutional clients, and their catalog of more than 36,000 titles and 4,600 apps includes content published in partnership with all major trade book publishers and app developers. Playaway Products was formerly part of audiobook provider Findaway, which was acquired by Spotify in 2022.
Amanda D’Acierno, President & Publisher, Penguin Random House Audio, said: “Penguin Random House Audio shares Playaway Products’ goal to make the best content available to the widest audience of readers and listeners. We’ve long recognized they meet a very specific need in the market and have shared a successful working relationship as a publishing partner for nearly two decades. I’m looking forward to working with Gene, Torin, and their team even more closely to fuel Playaway Products’ future growth.”
Gene LaMarca, CEO, Playaway Products, said: “Penguin Random House is the right strategic partner for Playaway Products. It was immediately apparent from the first conversations with the audio team that our cultures and vision align perfectly. We are committed to bridging the digital divide and providing access to top-quality audiobooks, children’s books, and apps via our devices. I’m eager to enter this new chapter together with our whole team, along with our customers and partners.”
Penguin Random House, the world’s largest trade book publisher, is dedicated to its mission to ignite a universal passion for reading by creating books for everyone. The company, which employs more than 10,000 people globally, was formed on July 1, 2013, by Bertelsmann and Pearson. As of April 1, 2020, Bertelsmann is full owner of the company. With more than 300 imprints and brands on six continents, Penguin Random House comprises adult and children’s fiction and nonfiction print and digital English-, German-, and Spanish-language trade book publishing businesses in more than 20 countries worldwide. With over 16,000 new titles, and more than 700 million print, audio, and eBooks sold annually, Penguin Random House’s publishing lists include more than 80 Nobel Prize laureates and hundreds of the world’s most widely read authors.
Penguin Random House Audio is the premier publisher in the audiobook industry, dedicated to producing top-quality fiction and nonfiction audiobooks written and read by the best in the business, including books by bestselling authors like Margaret Atwood, Brené Brown, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Elizabeth Gilbert, John Grisham, George R. R. Martin, Toni Morrison, Celeste Ng, Delia Owens, Rick Riordan, Colson Whitehead, and Jacqueline Woodson, as well as Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton, and First Lady Michelle Obama. Our audiobooks have won 17 GRAMMY® Awards, 100 Audie® Awards, and 26 Odyssey Awards and Honors. Random House Audio, Penguin Audio, Listening Library, and Books on Tape are imprints of the Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
Playaway Products LLC revolutionized the business of audiobooks in 2005 with Playaway, a pre-loaded audiobook player. Since then, Playaway Products has expanded into a portfolio of innovative technology solutions that continue to transform the way the world's best audiobook, app, eBook, and video content is circulated in more than 40,000 libraries, schools, and military installations. With simple and easy-to-use technology at the core of all product development, Playaway Products' mission is to make digital content accessible to everyone, promote literacy, and bridge the digital divide. To learn more about Playaway Products visit playaway.com.
