P.M. BRIEFING : Macmillan to Sell Gump’s Division to GMP Acquisition for $35 Million

Macmillan Inc. today said it agreed to sell its Gump’s specialty store and mail order chain to GMP Acquisition Corp. for more than $35 million, subject to regulatory approval.

The deal is expected to be completed by June 30.

Gump’s, founded in 1861, carries upscale items such as fine art, jewelry and antiques through four stores and a mail order division. The chain’s flagship outlet is in San Francisco. There are also Gump’s stores in Houston, Dallas and Beverly Hills.

GMP Acquisition is a partnership of Charterhouse Group International Inc., a New York investment group, and Tobu Department Store Co. of Japan, a private retailer with annual sales of $1.4 billion.

Robert Maxwell, chairman and chief executive of Macmillan and Maxwell Communications Corp., said the sale of Gump’s was part of the Maxwell publishing group’s program to divest non-strategic business groups.