Friday, August 1, 2008

Amazon.com Buys AbeBooks

Seattle-based online retailer Amazon.com said this morning that it has reached an agreement to acquire Abebooks, an online marketplace for used and out-of-print books. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Amazon said that Abebooks will continue to function as a stand-alone operation in Victoria, British Columbia. Abebooks lists used, rare, and out-of print books from independent booksellers, and is used by book readers to find difficult-to-locate titles. Amazon said it expects the acquisition to close before the end of the fourth quarter of this year. Amazon also said that it will continue to maintain all of the Abebooks websites, including the firm's Canadian website, which focuses on review of Canadian-authored books and interview with Canadian writers.