Reply to post #1230 (show post):
I did much the same search yesterday Themis, and didn't find any more than you did, except that they submitted financials last month (which is a normal thing to do both in the course of running a corporation and selling one). I scoured the Polish national and local newspapers (google translate to the rescue!) and found zero mention of neither Dawid, his wife nor BookLikes going back 6 months.

Which means that they're either really, exceptionally, good at keeping it all under wraps and we'll know when they feel like telling us, or they haven't actually sold BL at all and poor grammar on one site has led us down this merry path of angst for nothing (unlikely, because there's still the linked in entry) and they've all f*cked off on holiday for a week and have no idea we're driving ourselves crazy.

Either way I just want someone to tell us BookLikes isn't going anywhere, even if it's sold. Because I don't want to have to go back to GR or LM and I don't want to start my own blog (no shelves! no database! no friends!!!!). I love BookLikes enough to work for them for free; all I want in exchange is for BookLikes to stay put.

Found this via link and am a little surprised I'm able to post (booklikes groups have not been working for me).

Is anyone starting a directory of booklikes friends somewhere other than our book sites? I was thinking of starting a Google form (at least I doubt Google is closing anytime soon) or letting this group take the lead on that. I really do NOT want to juggle lots of duplicate efforts or find a good list on a book site that then went kaput so list got lost ... I don't really care who starts one so long as there is one and Google forms would let everyone update their stuff (like Dewey's Readathon did with their Google doc).

I wouldn't want emails publicized anywhere because of the harvesters and spammers. But people's blogs and book sites would be great (as well as possibly links to any groups set up for booklikes refugees on the other book sites).

The original "joining booklikes here's my ID there" one on goodreads is still ongoing at https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1506677-your-booklikes-names---please-post-your-name-here if anyone still has an account there.

Let me know by commenting on one of my recent posts in case groups screw up again for me. If someone starts a Google form, maybe they could add the link to that group, to the Leafmarks feedback suggestions and everyone just reblog the heck out of it on booklikes.

Maybe booklikes owners are busy moving to New York? Wasn't that the 2013 plan?

(That's sarcastic because if there is a good reason for going silent on us they could have at least announced "hey, folks, we're going to be going silent fur a while but exciting things will be happening" or even " hey, we're having some issues but will be back as quickly as we can" -- anything but nothing.)

Reply to post #1246 (show post):
Well, standard operating procedure in corporate M&A (mergers and acquisitions) practice is that you don't even refer to the target company and the buyer by their real names in any document created prior to / in the course of the actual transaction -- the whole thing gets a code name, such as "Project Alpha" or some such, and the companies are referred to by generic terms such as NewCo or HoldCo or OpCo -- and the actual advisors (lawyers, accountants, etc.) working on the deal are sworn to strict secrecy even within their own firms. Similarly, at the very outset of the negotiations the parties themselves typically sign comprehensive confidentiality agreements. So for anything to even have leaked to the press *beforehand* would actually have been shocking -- and the buyer, whoever they are, might well have pulled out entirely in that case on those grounds alone.

(BL submitting yearly financials, as you noted, isn't in and of itself notable, either, and the special financials that will likely have been created in the context of the M&A transaction aren't submitted separately but as part of the M&A papers, and are only relevant for the specific purposes of that transaction.)

I've also had a look at the German corporate registry, which however currently is still as silent on any mergers as the Polish registry is (and anyway, it's only mergers that would show there; if Bauer had just acquired the shares or assets of BookLikes Sp.z.o.o. and / or its parent or sister companies without actually merging BookLikes Sp.z.o.o. itself into one of the Bauer companies, that acquisition wouldn't show in the German registry any more than it would show in the Polish registry).

FWIW, like several others I've reached out to BL and asked them to comment. Their not doing so might well have something to do with the fact that the deal has not yet closed, or the transaction has not completed its judicial review, and therefore they aren't free to comment on what exactly is going on. In that case, however, it would have been extremely unwise for Dawid to disclose (even implicitly, on LinkedIn) that he has stepped down as CEO of BookLikes before that fact had actually been entered in the Polish corporate registry.

Reply to post #1249 (show post):
See, that's what I think is so odd - the radio silence makes sense if they've sold, or are in the process of selling, but the updates on his profile, and the comment made in the-hundert.com's spotlight on her don't. If there is no contractual obligation for silence, why wouldn't they just tell us "we've sold and we're in the process of transition so things are on hold"?

I can't make what few facts that are available fit any scenario that makes sense. ::shrug::

Reply to post #1250 (show post):
No scenario that makes sense if everybody were doing precisely what they're supposed to do, no.

When GR was sold to Amazon, we only learned about it after the fact. Which was a shock to most of us, particularly given the site's then-very recent past, but in terms of corporate M&A practice, precisely the way it was supposed to happen. (Also, GR by that time had enough staff to keep up communication with the site's members -- for what it was worth -- and daily business as usual so nobody would actually catch on to anything being in the works for a sudden lack of communication alone.)

This thing here is just totally inexplicable -- and for that reason in and of itself, extremely worrying.

Maybe they fired so many people to "lean up" their financials that they can't keep up with things. I've heard that some companies will do that in an effort to make their profitability look better on paper so they're more attractive to buyers.

So, how does the rampant speculation look to prospective buyers - or the new owners?

A brief message to let us know what's what wouldn't hurt about now, just to curtail this thread right here.

Would any new owners even think to check the discussion boards? Especially if the transition is't complete or has recently been completed?

Reply to post #1254 (show post):
I certainly would keep track of what the people were doing. I don't know about others, honestly, but I would. I would keep an eye on the mood after the purchase - that's when a lot of people bailed on GR, so using history - and I would think of checking the discussion boards. Especially one called 'Bug Reports.' That seems like a big, honking red flag to me.

Then again, I might be more paranoid/nervous/need to know EVERYTHING about something I love/own than other people.

Reply to post #1255 (show post):
What I meant was that although WE might expect a certain kind of behaviour with regards to sounding out a new purchase, the buyer may not feel the same way, especially if it's a small purchase. And they may not think of the discussion boards as a regular means of communication. And it sounds like the emails aren't being received.

I'm used to being more thorough than most and getting funny looks as a result, you see.

Don't get me wrong; I'm worried too.

Reply to post #1256 (show post):
I see your point, completely.

But... they aren't answering e-mails or anything else, so I think that helps your argument. I think that this speculation /should/ worry the new owners, but they're likely unaware. The general sentiment - what would they think if they knew is probably more what I was going for - stands. I don't think they'd like this much at all - if they knew.

I would appreciate even a "be back soon" with zero explanation to sudden silence and inactivity. Breaches a bit of trust that has me staying here just while friends are rather than to be on booklikes because like the features.

(admittedly, with no backup/export and foreign ownership I could never make booklikes my sole book site)

Reply to post #1260 (show post):
Silver lining! :)

Reply to post #1262 (show post):
Oh good, someone's still out there.