An investor group led by New York private equity firm Kohlberg & Co. has bought majority ownership of Thomas Nelson.

The company's new board will include Jane Friedman, former CEO of HarperCollins Worldwide--the parent company of Zondervan, Nelson's main competitor.

Terms and the purchase price of the deal, finalized June 14, were not disclosed. Nelson officials said the acquisition will significantly improve the company's capital structure and eliminate the majority of the "long-term debt," incurred under previous majority owner InterMedia Partners--also a private equity firm. InterMedia purchased Nelson in June 2006 for approximately $473 million.

Lindsey Nobles, Nelson's director of corporate communications, declined to reveal the amount of debt eliminated.

Related to the buyout, several new directors have been added to Nelson's board, including senior executives of Kohlberg & Co. Friedman is CEO and co-founder of Open Road Integrated Media, which focuses on e-books and has received a $7 million investment from Kohlberg, The Wall Street Journal reported.

"We are very excited about what this (acquisition) means for Thomas Nelson's future in the rapidly evolving publishing industry," said Michael Hyatt, Nelson's CEO who becomes chairman of the board of directors. "We are eager to start working with Kohlberg and our other new board members as we build upon our success bringing some of the most talented Christian authors and speakers to millions of people around the globe."

Chris Anderson, partner of Kohlberg & Co., said that Nelson "remains the clear leader in the Christian publishing world and is poised for growth in this new era." He added that Hyatt and the company "have done an excellent job managing the company through the challenges of the recession, and we stand behind them as we enter the future."

Nobles told Christian Retailing that Hyatt's responsibilities as CEO will not change. "Friedman will sit on the board as an outside adviser," she said. "Our board of directors has been expanded. We do not anticipate any changes in our day-to-day operations."

Nobles added that recent departures of longtime Nelson authors such as John Maxwell and Dave Ramsey were not related to the company's debt issues and the buyout. "These are normal day-to-day business activities," she said. "They are part of the normal ebb and flow of authors."

Nelson eliminated all of its imprints and reorganized its publishing functions around consumer categories in April 2007. In 2008, the company had two rounds of layoffs. The first followed a decision to release significantly fewer titles, and the second was a result of the slowdown in the economy.

When InterMedia--which retains a minority interest in Nelson--bought the company in 2006, it obtained $307 million in debt financing that included a six-year, $205 million term loan; a five-year, $35 million revolving credit facility; and $72 million senior subordinated notes with a seven-year maturity, Nelson officials said.

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