LONDON (ShareCast) - French-owned publisher Hodder & Stoughton has made a 12.6m pounds agreed takeover bid for Quercus Publishing.

Hodder, owned by Hachette UK and ultimately by Euronext-listed Lagardère, has offered 60p per share for Quercus, which is best known for its international bestseller The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by late Swedish author Stieg Larsson.

Hodder & Stoughton's published authors include the likes of Stephen King, John Grisham and Kirsty Allsopp.

ISDX-listed Quercus specialises in commercial fiction, non-fiction and children's publishing in digital and print and includes MacLehose Press, Jo Fletcher Books and Heron Books.

In January, Quercus said it expected to make a significant trading loss for 2013 and later announced it was starting a process to sell itself.

It stressed it had begun to broaden its ranges beyond the Larsson books, whose sales had begun to wane, but said the UK book trade stayed tough and trade in the important final three months of the year had been lower than hoped.

Quercus Chairman David Potter said on Tuesday: "In today's highly competitive and technological world, Quercus' board believes publishers will best fulfill their potential by being part of a larger and more diverse group. We believe that Hodder is the right home for Quercus."

Tim Hely Hutchinson, a director of Hachette UK and Chairman of Hodder, said: "If our offer is successful, Quercus will become a distinct division within our company and will benefit from Hachette UK Group's funding resources and sales reach."

PW

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