Bertelsmann to take full control of Penguin Random House

Germany-based media and services company Bertelsmann says it will buy the 25% of publisher Penguin Random House that it doesn’t already own for $675 million. Bertelsmann announced the purchase from British co-shareholder Pearson on Wednesday. It said that the transaction is expected to close in next year’s second quarter.

The company said that its wholly-owned Verlagsgruppe Random House subsidiary in Germany will become part of Penguin Random House. It added that the New York-based publisher will have more than 300 publishing imprints on six continents once the deal is complete. Bertelsmann combined its Random House book-publishing business with Pearson’s Penguin Group in 2013, with the German company initially holding 53% of the resulting company and Pearson holding 47%.

Bertelsmann increased its stake to 75% in 2017. Bertelsmann CEO Thomas Rabe said that “the increase to 100 per cent is a milestone for Bertelsmann,” making it the sole owner of the world’s biggest trade publishing group. He added in a statement that “we will continue to expand Penguin Random House in the coming years, through organic growth and acquisitions.”