Pearson and Bertelsmann: The Penguin and Random House merger has finally been completed

The Penguin and Random House merger has finally been completed, nine months after the two companies first announced their plans to join forces, thus creating a colossal book publisher.

The publishing houses’ parent companies, Pearson and Bertelsmann, made the announcement earlier this morning, which will now herald in an all-new brand called Penguin Random House.

It’s been a long road to clearing the deal, but it seems no objections were raised in the various countries around the world where the publishers’ have a physical entity. Just last month, China cleared the merger, which followed on from the US Department of Justice greenlighting the deal back in February. Australia followed suit, as did New Zealand, and several other countries, with Europe giving the go-ahead in early April.

The creation of Penguin Random House will lead the way for a publishing giant with more than 10,000 employees across the US, Canada, UK, India, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia and Chile. It will see 15,000 new titles printed each year.

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As previously stated, Germany’s Bertelsmann will own a majority share in the newly formed ‘Penguin Random House’ with 53%, while the UK’s Pearson will retain the remaining 47%. In light of today’s official confirmation, John Makinson will step down from the Pearson board to take on his new full-time role as Chairman of Penguin Random House.

Though there is a whole new brand for the two companies, Penguin has kept some rights to retain exclusive use of the ‘Penguin’ brand in the education sector.

Feature Image Credit – AFP/Getty