A book distributor, with its UK headquarters in Oxfordshire, has bought two companies in a bid for global expansion.

Earlier this year, Advanced Marketing Services, the parent company of Bicester-based Advanced Marketing, bought Publishers Group West, the largest distributor for independent publishers in the USA.

AMS has now bought two London-based firms -- Cutsound, known as Airlift Book Company, and H I Marketing.

AMS UK managing director Mike Kidd, who was based in Bicester, has been promoted to the new post of vice-president of international operations.

He will take on strategic planning and management of all book distribution and wholesaling activities outside the USA and Canada, while keeping responsibility for UK operations as group managing director.

Advanced Marketing distributes books through supermarkets and book clubs.

Last year, it spent £1m redeveloping its offices and warehouse in Bicester and split into three divisions -- retail, book club and leisure.

The retail division sells to supermarkets and the leisure division supplies garden centres and other retail outlets.

Terms of the acquisitions were not disclosed, although AMS said the two companies generated total annual sales of about £11m.

Mike Nicita, president and chief executive of AMS, said: "We believe these acquisitions are important far beyond their contributions to our overall revenue."

Mr Kidd said H I Marketing would target booksellers, while Airlift would market its alternative health and lifestyle books to traditional and non-traditional outlets. Vice-president of marketing at PGW, Mark Oimet, said: "This expansion supports our effort to globalize our distribution activity."

Mr Kidd joined AMS two years ago from Lloyds Chemists, where he was group managing director of sales and distribution, and was previously with automotive parts distributors Brown Brothers for 18 years.