The new company dubbed Hachette Antoine will “have a capital of $1 million and will be equally and fully financed by both parts,” Sami Nawfal, Librarie Antoine’s General Manager told Lebanon Opportunities magazine in an interview.

Nawfal said that there is no need to finance the project through obtaining loans from banks at this level, but he kept this option opened to “finance future expansion.”

Nawfal explained that the establishment of the new firm is part of the company’s plans to expand in Lebanon and the MENA region and to diversify its scope of work. “In our 75 year partnership with Hachette, we were targeting the Lebanese market exclusively and we were publishing only school books.” “As of now, we plan to branch out the scope of our business and expand abroad,” Nawfal said.

The joint venture which will be operational in January 2 2010 will be publishing books in Arabic and is expected to produce 70 to 150 publications a year. The books will cover a variety of topics including academic issues, general literature, health, well-being, travel, and other subjects that interest the youth.

Headquartered in Beirut, Hachette Antoine will be headed by Emile Tyan who currently acts as the sales director at Librairie Antoine.According to Nawfal, the new company will target to employ a staff of 14 Lebanese people in its first operational year.