Penguin and Random House to Combine

Pearson and Bertelsmann agreed to combine Penguin and Random House in a newly-created joint venture named Penguin Random House to create the world’s leading consumer publishing organization.

Under the terms of the agreement, Bertelsmann will own 53% of the joint venture and Pearson will own 47%. The joint venture will exclude Bertelsmann’s trade publishing business in Germany and Pearson will retain rights to use the Penguin brand in education markets worldwide.

In 2011, Random House reported revenues of €1.7 billion or £1.48 billion and operating profit of €185 million or £161 million. Penguin reported revenues of £1 billion and operating profit of £111 million.