This article was published on June 3, 2013

China gives the Penguin and Random House merger the all-clear


China gives the Penguin and Random House merger the all-clear

Penguin and Random House first announced their plans to merge last October, thus creating a colossal book publisher. Well, that deal has been given yet another big seal of approval with MOFCOM, the Chinese competition authority, giving the deal the go-ahead without conditions.

Today’s news follows on from the US Department of Justice greenlighting the deal back in February, which was a big step towards completing the merger. Australia followed suit, as did New Zealand, South Africa and then Europe in early April.

Random House’s parent company – German mass media corporation Bertelsmann – and Pearson (Penguin’s parent company) confirmed the news earlier today, but the overall deal isn’t yet finalized, as it has yet to be ratified by a number of other bodies.

Indeed, while the China hurdle is a significant step forward, there still remains India, Spain and a number of Latin American countries where Penguin and Random House operate. So it could be another few months yet before the deal is finally signed, sealed and delivered.

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Assuming the merger is seen through to completion, Bertelsmann will own a majority share in the newly formed ‘Penguin Random House’ with 53%, while Pearson will own the remaining 47%.

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