Collapsed online bookseller Booktopia has been sold to the owner of electronics retailer digiDirect and will immediately resume trading.

The sale to Shant Kradjian was completed on Friday evening, Booktopia administator McGrathNicol announced on Monday morning.

“We are incredibly pleased to have completed the sale of the Booktopia business to the owner of digiDirect,” McGrathNicol partner Keith Crawford said.

The 18 remaining Booktopia employees will be retained and another 100 will be hired, with the 165 staff let go when Booktopia entered voluntary administration last month being encouraged to rejoin the group.

The transaction also means the continuity of supply for Booktopia’s trade customers and the purchaser is making special arrangements for customers with unredeemed gift cards, Crawford said.

“Booktopia has been a key part of Australia’s publishing industry for 20 years, and transitioning the business to such a well-known Australian retailer is a great outcome for all stakeholders,” he said.

Founded by Kradjian in 2006, when he was 18, digiDirect has eight retail stores across Australia and an e-commerce business specialising in cameras and video equipment.

-AAP