KKR to Acquire Audiobook Publisher RBmedia

Investment firm estimates consumers will spend $900 million on audiobooks in 2018

Investment firm KKR has agreed to acquire RBmedia, a major producer of digital audiobooks and spoken content, from investment firm Shamrock Capital, the latest sign of the growing popularity of audiobooks as a consumer-entertainment format.

The deal is expected to close by early fall. Terms weren’t disclosed.

Audiobooks have emerged as the...