Agora Financial Acquires Laissez Faire Books.

BALTIMORE -- Addison Wiggin, Executive Publisher of Agora Financial today announced the acquisition of Laissez Faire Books (LFB), the country's premier Libertarian bookseller. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Commenting on the acquisition, Wiggin said, "The Laissez Faire Books purchase represents an important strategic move for Agora Financial. Fundamentally, we believe the classical economic tradition will again provide critical insight as the Western world faces ongoing fiscal crises." He added, "LFB will provide a solid resource for our one million readers worldwide while helping our analysts ground the financial advice we provide firmly in the intellectual tradition from which so much of it is derived." He concluded, "We're eager to write the next chapter in Laissez Faire Books storied history."

Founded in New York's Greenwich Village in 1972, LFB quickly earned the reputation as a leading voice in the libertarian community, often cited as carrying more printed materials on classical economics and individual liberty than any other bookstore. Additionally, the store became a venue for political discussion, lectures, book signings, and films - entirely focused on social and political issues of the day.

In the 1980s, Laissez Faire Books grew its business and developed a publishing imprint Fox & Wilkes to publish contemporary authors and re-issue major works that were out-of-print.

At LFB's peak in the mid-1990s, revenues exceeded a million dollars. The company had established a customer list of nearly 30,000, and was featured in a Wall Street Journal article by Gerald Seib. However, the rise of the Internet made profitability difficult, and LFB changed ownership and location several times.

Since the acquisition by Agora Financial in late 2010, Laissez Faire Books has developed a plan to pick up where the company left off in the mid-90s. Last month, LFB reprinted and co-published with the Mises Institute Ron Paul's The Case for Gold: A Minority Report of the U.S. Gold Commission.

Jeffrey Tucker, Editorial Vice President of the Mises Institute said, "Laissez-Faire Books has a noble heritage of providing great books to readers in the dark times before the digital age." He added, "They have a lengthy track record of innovation and now with the resources of Agora Financial, we are looking forward to a publishing focus that will reach or exceed LFB's best years."

Agora Financial, LLC, is a Baltimore-based publisher of over a dozen financial and investment advisory newsletters. The editors of these publications have been recognized by major media outlets for their honest, unconventional, and unbiased independent financial research.

Two of its free daily newsletters, the Daily Reckoning and Whiskey and Gunpowder, adroitly chronicle the failures and foibles of government intervention in financial markets and monetary policy. The combination of Agora Financial, LLC and Laissez Faire Books will bond both franchises and extend the outreach to a wider audience.