The Department of Justice has approved the proposed merger of Random House and Penguin, which was announced last October. Among other authorities reviewing the merger are the European Commission and the Canadian Competition Bureau. The publishers' parent companies, Bertelsmann and Pearson, respectively, expect that they will receive necessary approvals for the merger in the second half of the year.
Bertelsmann chairman and CEO Thomas Rabe commented: "This positive first decision by one of the antitrust authorities is an important milestone on the path to uniting two of the world's leading publishing companies into a truly global publishing group. It will enable investments worldwide in new digital publishing models, in new distribution paths, products and services and in the major growth markets. Penguin Random House points the way to the international future of the book."
Under the proposed merger, Bertelsmann will own 53% of Penguin Random, and Pearson will own 47%. The merged company will include all of Random House and Penguin Group's publishing units in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa, as well as Penguin's operations in China and Random House's publishers in Spain and Latin America. Bertelsmann's German publishing group, Verlagsgruppe Random House, is not included in the merger.