This is not necessarily an indicator of major trouble but it is something that can be seen as a sort of red flag (or at least a yellow one), signaling a situation that must be analyzed more carefully: If a publisher has changed its name recently you may want to look into their reason for doing so before you sign that contract, no matter what they promise.
There may be a number of legitimate reasons why a publisher may choose to switch names. It may be something as simple as having an old name that was too similar to that of a different publisher --especially if that other publisher has a less than stellar reputation-- or it may have to do with a restructuring within a parent company (though you should keep in mind that few parent companies would change the name of a division that's doing fine just because they are restructuring). Unfortunately there may be less noble reasons for such a change, the most common of these has to do with a company looking for a quick fix for a deservedly shoddy reputation. It is a sad fact but a company that is known for bad business practices may find it easier to clean its name by choosing a new one rather than by cleaning up its act.
As I said, not necessarily a problem but certainly a warning sign worth taking into account. In these cases you should look at the companies reputation under both names. Luckily this should be fairly easy seeing how much outdated information is to be found online... and as always contact autnors who have dealt with the publisher in question.
Here you have a list of publishers that have renamed themeslves (and their old names):
BookPublisher
was iPublisher
(changed back in 2001-2002
note: seeing how this name changed a few years ago,
it may be less relevant than in the other cases, especially
considering that at the time there was another company known as
iPublish with a really dismal reputation).
BookSurge Publishing
was
Global Book
Publisher was
GreatUnpublished
(changed to
Global Book
Publisher in December 2003
and then to BookSurge
Publishing in April
2004).
AuthorHouse was
1stBooks Library
(changed in March 2004).
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