Alliance Entertainment Holding Corporation has announced they’ve won the bid for Diamond Comics Distributors (U.S.)., pending court approval on March 27.
In addition to Diamond Comic Distributors, per a press release, Alliance has announced they also won the bid for three other divisions of the bankrupt company: Alliance Game Distributors, Diamond Select Toys & Collectibles, and Collectible Grading Authority. That represents four of the 12 divisions of Diamond that were up for auction over the past two days, so more to come on that.
“This is a transformative opportunity to expand our leadership in the world of gaming and physical collectibles and deepen our reach into thriving fan-driven categories,” said Jeff Walker, CEO of Alliance Entertainment, via the press release. “With their legacy of exclusive titles, deep retail relationships, and strong presence in comics, tabletop games, and collectible merchandise, these businesses are highly complementary to our existing distribution and fulfillment model. We see powerful cross-selling potential between our product lines and customer bases, expanding the reach of our expanded product portfolio across both mass retail and specialty channels.”
Alliance — no relationship to the Game Distributors they just purchased — is a “global distributor and wholesaler specializing in music, movies, video games, electronics, arcades, and collectibles” based in Florida.
“We’re incredibly honored to welcome the talented teams from Diamond Comic Distributors, Alliance Game Distributors, and Collectible Grading Authority to the Alliance Entertainment family,” added Bruce Ogilvie, Executive Chairman of Alliance Entertainment. “These are passionate professionals who have built deep relationships across the fandom, hobby, and collectibles communities. We look forward to supporting them, learning from them, and investing in their success. To the suppliers, creators, and publishing partners that make this ecosystem so dynamic, we’re excited to collaborate and build lasting value together. And to the customers who rely on these brands every day, we remain committed to delivering the excellent service and reliability you expect, and taking it even further.”
In addition to the comic book distribution represented by Diamond’s US branch that includes Marvel, BOOM!, and Dark Horse, Alliance now distributes, among other things, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Digimon.
The purchase should be finalized in court on Thursday, followed by a closing in April, 2025. While there are a lot more questions here to be answered — not least of which is who got those other eight divisions — this seems, at worst, not bad, and at best, a good fit for Diamond’s future.
Comic Book Club Live Info:
Discover more from Comic Book Club
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.