Bertelsmann and Pearson merge their publishing houses
A new giant is emerging on the international book market: Europe's largest media group Bertelsmann and the British publishing house Pearson are merging their book publishing companies - Random House and Penguin Group.
Bertelsmann is to hold 53 percent of the shares, Pearson 47 percent, as Bertelsmann announced on Monday. Both parties expect to be able to complete the transaction in the second half of 2013 once the necessary regulatory approvals have been granted. The new company is to be headed by the former Random House CEO Markus Dohle. "With the planned merger, Bertelsmann and Pearson are creating the best possible conditions for the future of their globally recognized publishing houses Random House and Penguin," explained Bertelsmann CEO Thomas Rabe. Books could be published more effectively, in both traditional and digital formats. Rabe spoke of a "milestone" for Bertelsmann.
Random House, with sales of a good 1.7 billion euros in 2011, claims to sell 500 million books a year worldwide. The traditional publisher Penguin, with the famous penguin as its emblem - sales of just under 1.3 billion euros in 2011 - is primarily known for its affordable classic paperbacks. The merger will enable both publishing houses to "publish their books even more effectively, in both traditional and digital formats and for the distribution channels of the future," said Bertelsmann CEO Thomas Rabe. If the antitrust authorities give the green light, the deal is expected to be completed in the second half of 2013. (SDA)
