Penguin and Random House Merge, Saying Change Will Come Slowly

Andy Rain/European Pressphoto Agency

Books published by Penguin Random House will account for more than a quarter of the United States trade book market.

By JULIE BOSMAN - The New York Times - Published: July 1, 2013

Receptionists cheerfully answered the phones with a new greeting: “Good morning, Penguin Random House.”

Markus Dohle -Sean Gallup/Getty Images

E-mails were sent to nervous employees assuring them that their health plans would not change.

And a new temporary logo — with a penguin in profile next to a tidy house — was released until a permanent one could be designed.

On Monday, the newly formed company of Penguin Random House began to take shape, only hours after a middle-of-the-night announcement that the long-planned merger had been completed.

Together, Penguin and Random House will make up the biggest and most dominant publisher in the business, one that has unmatched leverage against Amazon.com and the potential to inspire other mergers in the industry.

Markus Dohle, the chairman and chief executive of Random House, who will take on the role of chief executive of the new company, announced the completion of the merger in an e-mail to employees on Monday.

“Today, we are Penguin Random House,” he wrote. “You should be proud of what you’ve accomplished and what we are all now a part of: the first truly global trade book publishing company. Together, we are even better positioned to fulfill our core purpose: to bridge authors and readers by publishing the very best books.”

Bertelsmann, the owner of Random House, and Pearson, the owner of Penguin, disclosed the merger in October, saying that Bertelsmann would control 53 percent of the company and Pearson 47 percent. Since then, the merger has sailed through regulatory approvals in the United States and Europe, as well as China, Canada and other countries.

The combined companies will control more than 25 percent of the book business, with more than 10,000 employees, 250 independent publishing imprints and about $3.9 billion in annual revenues. 

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