Penguin, Random House merge to create world’s largest consumer book publisher - Polidicks

[Quote=Associated Press][img]http://nationalpostarts.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/peng11.jpg?w=620[/img] LONDON — Pearson PLC will merge its Penguin Books division with Random House, which is owned by German media company Bertelsmann, in an all-share deal that will create the world’s largest publisher of consumer books. The planned joint venture brings together classic and bestselling names. As well as publishing books from authors such as John Grisham, Random House scored a major hit this year with “Fifty Shades of Grey.” Penguin has a strong backlist, including George Orwell, Jack Kerouac and John Le Carre. The two companies said Monday that Bertelsmann would own a controlling 53% share of the joint venture, which will be known as Penguin Random House. Bertelsmann would keep full control of Verlagsgruppe Random House, its trade publishing business in Germany, and Pearson would retain the right to use the Penguin brand in education. The announcement appears to put paid to any hopes that News Corp. may have had in netting Penguin. Reports over the past couple of days have indicated that News Corp. has expressed an interest in buying Penguin for 1 billion pounds ($1.6-billion) in cash. News Corp. owns HarperCollins, another big publishing house. Under the terms of the deal, Random House worldwide chief executive Markus Dohle will be CEO of the new group while Penguin’s CEO John Makinson will be the chairman of its board of directors. “Together, the two publishers will be able to share a large part of their costs, to invest more for their author and reader constituencies and to be more adventurous in trying new models in this exciting, fast-moving world of digital books and digital readers,” said Marjorie Scardino, chief executive of Pearson. And Bertelsmann’s Dohle said the link-up will “create a publishing home that gives employees, authors, agents, and booksellers access to unprecedented resources.” The closing of the deal is scheduled to take place in the second half of 2013 following regulatory approval. Pearson said the deal does not require approval by shareholders; Bertelsmann is privately-owned. Pearson shares were down 1% at 1,209 pence in midmorning trading in London. The Financial Times, a Pearson publication, reported Monday that Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. had approached Pearson “at the highest level” about a possible cash offer for Penguin. The Sunday Times, owned by News Corp., reported that Murdoch was prepared to offer 1 billion pounds in cash. Pearson declined to comment on the possible interest of News Corp. In 2011, Random House reported revenues of C1.7billion ($2.2-billion) and operating profit of C185 million. Penguin had revenues of 1-billion pounds and an operating profit of 111 million pounds. Pearson meanwhile reported that its operating profit in the first nine months of the year fell 5% although revenue increased by 5%. Revenue from Penguin was down 1% on a constant currency basis. The company attributed the profit drop to its sale last year of its half share of FTSE International, a joint venture with the London Stock Exchange. The Bertelsmann deal is part of Pearson’s strategy of focusing more on its education business, which has made Pearson the world’s largest publisher of books. Penguin accounts for about 10 per cent of the company’s book sales. ———— David Rising in Berlin contributed to this story[/Quote] [url]http://arts.nationalpost.com/2012/10/29/penguin-random-house-to-merge-to-create-worlds-largest-consumer-book-publisher/[/url] This seems like big news, I just wish I had a better idea of its implications. I don't much like the idea of large publishers controlling what's printed, but it probably means that books will remain cheaper/ the same price for the foreseeable future because it'll rationalize a lot of their costs.

I expected something cooler from the title...

[QUOTE=Riller;38235086]I expected something cooler from the title...[/QUOTE] I'm not gonna lie, business can be pretty dull shit sometimes; but this is going to affect all kinds of stuff. You should all be concerned.

Neato, I think. Anything to stay afloat I guess when people are going to start turning more and more to stuff like the Kindle and Nook. I still prefer the actual feeling of a paper book though. They don't need to be recharged.

They're relatively stable as far as the market goes. They have school required books in their backlog and the 50 shades series.

Penguin House or Random Penguin?

[QUOTE=Sixer;38235138]I'm not gonna lie, business can be pretty dull shit sometimes; but this is going to affect all kinds of stuff. You should all be concerned.[/QUOTE] What are you talking about, business is hardcore [img]http://imgkk.com/i/itwc.jpg[/img]

Mr. Poppers Penguins.

[QUOTE=rrunyan;38235247]Penguin House or Random Penguin?[/QUOTE] Penguin Random House, unfortunately.

[QUOTE=Sixer;38235138]I'm not gonna lie, business can be pretty dull shit sometimes; but this is going to affect all kinds of stuff. You should all be concerned.[/QUOTE] I thought a penguin had occupied some person's house, eating the books...

[QUOTE=Sixer;38235470]Penguin Random House, unfortunately.[/QUOTE] They had so many good options and they choose that crap Not Random Penguin House or what rrunyan suggested

[QUOTE=Sixer;38235470]Penguin Random House, unfortunately.[/QUOTE] Or they can just call it Igloo

[QUOTE=World Eater;38235152]Neato, I think. Anything to stay afloat I guess when people are going to start turning more and more to stuff like the Kindle and Nook. I still prefer the actual feeling of a paper book though. They don't need to be recharged.[/QUOTE] I'm still waiting for an ebook that feels just like paper and recharges on sunlight, maybe in the future.

Larger corporate mergers are complicated affairs, it's not all black and white you know.

[QUOTE=Sixer;38235470]Penguin Random House, unfortunately.[/QUOTE] Random Penguin House :wink:

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Or they could call it Penguin Publishing. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve3Ycd9iA74[/media] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXuSfYupcUo[/media] Wouldn't this be a bad thing for books? Since it'll be mostly a monopoly on book publishing?

[QUOTE=Pat4ever;38241186]Or they could call it Penguin Publishing. Wouldn't this be a bad thing for books? Since it'll be mostly a monopoly on book publishing?[/QUOTE]This is very worrisome for book publishing. With publishing houses falling, and digital books shaking up the industry these past few years, having 2 very significant publishers merging is definitely something to keep an eye on. I dont have as intimate and familiar an understanding of all this, but it's definitely going to shake things up. Same if 2 major game publishers merged, like EA and Bethesda or something

[QUOTE=Nikota;38235184]They're relatively stable as far as the market goes. They have school required books in their backlog and the 50 shades series.[/QUOTE] I don't think this is a good thing, as it creates a near monopoly