Writers Tricks of the Trade VOLUME 7, ISSUE 3 | Page 32

INDUSTRY NEWS
B ERTELSMANN B UYS 22% S TAKE IN P ENGUIN
R ANDOM H OUSE F ROM P EARSON -- 3 RD U PDATE
B Y Z EKE T URNER P UBLISHED J ULY 11, 2017 F EATURES D OW J ONES N EWSWIRES
BERLIN – Bertelsmann SE is upping its stake in publisher Penguin Random House to 75%,
giving the German media titan increased control over one of the top prizes in the book business
and betting hundreds of millions of dollars more on the future of print.
Bertelsmann said Tuesday it was buying a 22% stake in the business from Pearson PLC for
about $780 million. The British education company will retain a 25% stake in the publisher.
Pearson said it would receive a total $968 million from the sale and associated dividend
payments.
The move comes after years of strategic reorganizing in the publishing world, with compa-
nies worried that the rising popularity of e-books and online sales would permanently cut into
their revenue. But lately executives have noticed their sales rising on the back of increased con-
sumer time spent reading across platforms, knocked on by heightening interest in politics.
Global book publishing revenue is expected to increase 9.7% over 2015, climbing to
EUR122.95 billion ($140.10 billion) in 2020, according to statistics cited by Bertelsmann.
Printed books "will still be around in 100 years," Penguin Random House Chief Executive
Markus Dohle said in a document sent to Bertelsmann employees and seen by The Wall Street
Journal.
Executives at Bertelsmann said that the deal wouldn't affect Penguin Random House's daily
operations, but Bertelsmann's increased control will give it the right to nam