News
Publishers Random House, Penguin to Merge
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
The German media corporation Bertelsmann and the British media conglomerate Pearson are combining their Penguin and Random House branches, thus creating the world's leading trade publisher.
Pending government regulators' approval, the merged company will be called Penguin Random House. Bertelsmann will own 53%, while Pearson will hold 47% of the new company.
According the The Hollywood Reporter, the merged publishers would control about 25 percent of the book market and earn a total revenue of about US$3 billion.
Random House managed the Del Rey Manga imprint before Kodansha USA started taking over their publishing duties in 2010. Random House distributes the Kodansha USA-published volumes as part of its Random House Publishing Services (RHPS) division.
Penguin and four other publishers were named in an anti-trust lawsuit in April, charging the companies with colluding to raise e-book prices through the use of the "agency model," where publishers, not booksellers, set book prices. Publishers Penguin and Macmillan, along with Apple, filed an opposition to the Department of Justice's proposed settlement on August 15.
