RBMedia

Among them are: Recorded Books, Tantor Media, HighBridge Audio, ChristianAudio, Gildan Media, W.F. Howes, Wavesound, GraphicAudio. After being assembled by Shamrock Advisors and controlled by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, it was acquired in September 2023 by H.I.G. Capital and Francisco Partners.

• Name — RBMedia • Predecessor — Recorded Books • Founder — Shamrock Advisors • Country — United States • Headquarters — Landover, Maryland • Publications — Audiobooks, Books • Imprints — Recorded Books HighBridge Tantor Media Kalorama Audio Christian Audio Ascent Audio W.F. Howes WaveSound BookaVivo GraphicAudio • Owner — * Shamrock Advisors • Kohlberg Kravis Roberts • H.I.G. Capital • (2023–present) • Francisco Partners • (2023–present) • Url — https: rbmediaglobal.com/

When it was organized in April 2017 and became known as RBMedia, its imprints included Recorded Books, HighBridge Audio, Tantor Media, ChristianAudio, Gildan Media, W.F. Howes (UK), and Wavesound (Australia). It would sell or distribute titles directly to customers through Audiobooks.com, libraries, and resellers such as Audible. In the month that its new name was revealed, the company acquired Audiobooks.com, which would launch in the UK six months later. In September 2017, RBMedia purchased Gildan Media, a business book publisher. In July 2018, Shamrock Advisors sold the company to private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR). In March 2020, RBMedia acquired GraphicAudio, a producer of immersive full-cast and sound-effect productions with brands such as Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Dynamite Entertainment, Vault Comics and authors such as Brandon Sanderson, Peter V. Brett, Michael J. Sullivan, R. A. Salvatore, William W. Johnstone, and Brent Weeks. Three months later, it sold its library assets to OverDrive, Inc.; this includes RBDigital, an app and service for the distribution of digital content. RBMedia and OverDrive are both owned by KKR, with KKR's OverDrive purchase concluded in June 2020. The sale of RBMedia's library division to OverDrive represents a merger of KKR's related assets. In March 2021, RBMedia acquired Booka, a Barcelona-based audiobook publishing company rebranded as BookaVivo. In May, the company acquired McGraw-Hill Professional's audiobook business including the entire catalog of previously published titles and exclusive rights to all future titles. In August 2021, RBMedia launched Ascent Audio for business focused books. The catalog includes audiobooks from the previous acquisition of Gildan Media and McGraw-Hill Professional. It claimed to be the world's largest catalog of business audiobooks. In December, a month after announcing that it had sold Audiobooks.com to Storytel for $135 million, RBMedia acquired the audiobook self-publisher Author’s Republic, including its traditional audiobook subsidiary Novel Audio. In January 2022, it purchased the German audiobook publisher ABOD, with works to be published under the RBmedia Verlag brand. In 2023, it was announced that KKR sold RBMedia to H.I.G. Capital and Francisco Partners. In 2024, RBMedia acquired Dreamscape Media from Midwest Tape.