Bertelsmann, Pearson Complete Penguin Random House Merger

German media company Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA said Monday it has signed the final contracts with British Pearson PLC (PSO, PSON.LN) on the merger of their publishing companies Random House and Penguin.

MAIN FACTS:

-Markus Dohle, previously chairman and chief executive of Random House since June 2008, will serve as CEO of the new company, Penguin Random House.

-John Makinson, who headed the Penguin Group from 2002, is the company's chairman of the board of directors.

-Penguin Random House is expected to generate annual revenues of approximately EUR3 billion ($3.9 billion)and employ more than 10,000 people worldwide across almost 250 imprints.

-Munich-based Verlagsgruppe Random House, the German-language publishing group, will remain at Bertelsmann, outside the new company, continuing to report to Markus Dohle.

-In October 2012, Bertelsmann's Random House and Pearson PLC'S Penguin Group said they intended to merge into Penguin Random House, with Bertelsmann owning a 53% stake and Pearson owning 47%.

-In April, European Union regulators approved the proposed merger.

 
-Frankfurt Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; 49-69-29725-500 
 

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