Penguin Random House

Last updated

Penguin Random House Limited
Company type Subsidiary
FoundedJuly 1, 2013;11 years ago (2013-07-01)
Headquarters Random House Tower, New York City, New York, United States
20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London, England, United Kingdom
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
ProductsBooks
RevenueIncrease2.svg€4 billion (2021)
Number of employees
10,000 (as of July 1,2013)
Parent Bertelsmann
Website global.penguinrandomhouse.com OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Footnotes /references
[1]

Penguin Random House Limited [2] is a British-American multinational conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. [3] [4] Penguin Books was originally founded in 1935 [5] and Random House was founded in 1927. [6] It has more than 300 publishing imprints. Along with Simon & Schuster, Hachette, HarperCollins and Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Random House is considered one of the 'Big Five' English language publishers.

Contents

On April 2, 2020, Bertelsmann announced the completion of its purchase of Penguin Random House, which had been announced in December 2019, by buying Pearson plc's 25% ownership of the company. With the purchase, Bertelsmann became the sole owner of Penguin Random House. Bertelsmann's German-language publishing group Verlagsgruppe Random House will be completely integrated into Penguin Random House, adding 45 imprints to the company, for a total of 365 imprints. [7]

As of 2021, Penguin Random House employed about 10,000 people globally and published 15,000 titles annually under its 250 divisions and imprints. [8] These titles include fiction and nonfiction for adults and children in both print and digital. Penguin Random House comprises Penguin and Random House in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Portugal, and India; Penguin in Brazil, Asia and South Africa; Dorling Kindersley worldwide; and Random House's companies in Spain, Hispanic America, and Germany. [9] [10]

On November 25, 2020, The New York Times reported that Penguin Random House was planning to purchase Simon & Schuster from Paramount Global for $2.175 billion. [11] However, on November 2, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice sued to stop the deal on antitrust grounds, a suit that eventually succeeded on October 31, 2022. [12] [13] The deal formally collapsed on November 22, 2022. [14]

History

Penguin Random House was formed on July 1, 2013 by Markus Dohle upon the completion of a £2.4 million transaction between Bertelsmann and Pearson to merge their respective trade publishing companies, Random House and Penguin Group. Bertelsmann and Pearson, the parent companies, initially owned 53% and 47%, respectively. [15] Jane Ciabattari of Library Journal has referred to this merger as the publishing industry's response to the increasing dominance of Amazon.com in the book market. [16] Dohle was named CEO of the new company, which had more than 10,000 employees worldwide with more than 250 imprints and publishing houses and a publishing list of more than 15,000 new titles a year. [8] [10] [17] Penguin Random House relaunched Book Country, Penguin's online writing community, on July 29, 2013. [18] On September 24, 2014, Random House Studio signed a first-look production deal with Universal Pictures, under which Random House would be the producer of films based on Penguin Random House books. The Universal subsidiary Focus Features has frequently collaborated with Random House Films. [19] Having previously created Puffin Rock animation, Richard Haines was chosen to head Penguin Random House Children's TV development strategy with the assistance of licensing, publishing, and TV development executive Emily Campan. [20]

In November 2015, Pearson announced it would rebrand to focus on its education division. [21] On July 11, 2017, Pearson sold 22% of its stake in the business to Bertelsmann, thereby retaining a 25% holding. [22] [23] On December 18, 2019, Bertelsmann agreed to acquire Pearson's 25% stake in Penguin Random House, [24] making it a wholly owned subsidiary of Bertelsmann. The sale was completed on April 2, 2020. [7] In June 2020, Penguin Random House became part of a group of publishers who sued the Internet Archive, arguing that its collection of e-books was denying authors and publishers revenue and accusing the library of "willful mass copyright infringement". [25] [26]

On November 25, 2020, Penguin Random House agreed to purchase American publisher Simon & Schuster from ViacomCBS for $2.175 billion, with a formal regulatory approval process to follow the purchase agreement. [27] On November 2, 2021, the US Justice Department filed a civil antitrust lawsuit to block Penguin Random House's proposed acquisition of Simon & Schuster, alleging that the acquisition would create a publisher with too much influence over books and author payments. [28] In October 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of the Justice Department. [29] On November 21, 2022, Penguin Random House officially scrapped the deal. As a result, it was to pay a $200 million termination fee to the recently-rebranded Paramount Global. [30] Simon & Schuster would instead be sold to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts on October 30, 2023. [31]

In July 2024, it was announced that Penguin Random House would acquire comic book publisher Boom! Studios. [32]

Divisions and imprints

DK

DK (Dorling Kindersley) was founded in London in 1974.[ citation needed ]

As of 2015, DK also has official publishing relationships with Angry Birds , Lego, Marvel, Star Wars , and Disney. [33] [ better source needed ]

Crown Publishing Group

Crown Publishing was founded in 1933 as the Outlet Book Company, a remainder house, and is now a publisher of fiction and narrative non-fiction. [34] In 2018, Crown was combined with the main Random House Publishing Group. [35]

Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

Penguin Publishing Group

Penguin Young Readers Group

Penguin Young Readers Group is a division devoted to books for young readers and young adults.

Random House Publishing Group

Random House Children's Books

Sourcebooks

Penguin Random House Digital Publishing Group

Penguin Random House International

Penguin Random House Publisher Services

Handling distribution and marketing for Shambhala Publications, Disney Publishing Worldwide (including National Geographic Books), Wizards of the Coast, Kodansha USA (including Vertical Inc.), New York Review Books, Titan Books, Other Press, North Atlantic Books, Blue Star Press, DC Comics, Seven Seas Entertainment, and Dark Horse Comics among others.[ citation needed ]

It also handles direct market distribution for Marvel Comics starting October 1, 2021, [56] direct market distribution for IDW Publishing starting June 1, 2022, [57] and direct market distribution for Dark Horse Comics starting June 1, 2023. [58]

Ebury Publishing

Subsidiaries

Book Country

Book Country was a subsidiary online writing and publishing community. [59] Book Country was launched in April 2011 with a focus on romance, mystery, science fiction, fantasy. On July 29, 2013, Book Country relaunched with online writing workshops in more than 60 literary categories, including literary fiction, memoir, and women's fiction. [18] As of September 2013, the site had more than 10,000 members. [60] As of November 2020, the site is no longer operational.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the following decades, a series of acquisitions made it into one of the largest publishers in the United States. In 2013, it was merged with Penguin Group to form Penguin Random House, which is owned by the Germany-based media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Penguin Random House uses its brand for Random House Publishing Group and Random House Children's Books, as well as several imprints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McClelland & Stewart</span> Canadian publishing company

McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hutchinson Heinemann</span> British book and magazine publisher

Hutchinson Heinemann is a British publishing firm founded in 1887. It is currently an imprint which is ultimately owned by Bertelsmann, the German publishing conglomerate.

Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a merger that was finalised on 1 July 2013, with Bertelsmann initially owning 53% of the joint venture, and Pearson PLC initially owning the remaining 47%. Since 18 December 2019, Penguin Random House has been wholly owned by Bertelsmann.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon & Schuster</span> American publishing company

Simon & Schuster LLC is an American publishing company owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette, HarperCollins and Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster is considered one of the 'Big Five' English language publishers. As of 2017, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publisher in the United States, publishing 2,000 titles annually under 35 different imprints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DK (publisher)</span> British publisher of non-fiction books

Dorling Kindersley Limited is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel, history, geography, science, space, nature, sports, gardening, cookery, parenting and many others. The worldwide CEO of DK is Paul Kelly. DK has offices in New York, Melbourne, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto, Madrid, Beijing, and Jiangmen. DK works with licensing partners such as Disney, LEGO, DC Comics, the Royal Horticultural Society, MasterChef, and the Smithsonian Institution. DK has commissioned authors such as Mary Berry, Monty Don, Robert Winston, Huw Richards, and Steve Mould for a range of books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pantheon Books</span> American book publishing imprint

Pantheon Books is an American book publishing imprint. Founded in 1942 as an independent publishing house in New York City by Kurt and Helen Wolff, it specialized in introducing progressive European works to American readers. In 1961, it was acquired by Random House, and André Schiffrin was hired as executive editor, who continued to publish important works, by both European and American writers, until he was forced to resign in 1990 by Random House owner Samuel Irving Newhouse, Jr. and president Alberto Vitale. Several editors resigned in protest, and multiple Pantheon authors including Studs Terkel, Kurt Vonnegut, and Barbara Ehrenreich held a protest outside Random House. In 1998, Bertelsmann purchased Random House, and the imprint has undergone a number of corporate restructurings since then. It is now part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group under Penguin Random House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred A. Knopf</span> American publishing house

Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. is an American publishing house that was founded by Blanche Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Sr. in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in addition to leading American literary trends. It was acquired by Random House in 1960, and is now part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group division of Penguin Random House which is owned by the German conglomerate Bertelsmann.

The New American Library is an American publisher based in New York, founded in 1948. Its initial focus was affordable paperback reprints of classics and scholarly works as well as popular and pulp fiction, but it now publishes trade and hardcover titles. It is currently an imprint of Penguin Random House; it was announced in 2015 that the imprint would publish only nonfiction titles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vintage Books</span> American publishing imprint

Vintage Books is a trade paperback publishing imprint of Penguin Random House originally established by Alfred A. Knopf in 1954. The company was acquired by Random House in April 1960, and a British division was set up in 1990. After Random House merged with Bantam Doubleday Dell, Doubleday's Anchor Books trade paperback line was added to the same division as Vintage. Following Random House's merger with Penguin, Vintage UK was transferred to Penguin UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kensington Publishing</span> US book publishing company

Kensington Publishing Corp. is an American, New York–based publishing house founded in 1974 by Walter Zacharius (1923–2011) and Roberta Bender Grossman (1946–1992). Kensington is known as "America's Independent Publisher". It remains a multi-generational family business, with Steven Zacharius succeeding his father as president and CEO, and Adam Zacharius as general manager.

Hachette Book Group (HBG) is a publishing company owned by Hachette Livre, the largest publishing company in France, and the third largest trade and educational publisher in the world. Hachette Livre is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lagardère Group. HBG was formed when Hachette Livre purchased the Time Warner Book Group from Time Warner on March 31, 2006. Its headquarters are located at 1290 Avenue of the Americas, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Hachette is considered one of the "big five" publishing companies, along with Holtzbrinck/Macmillan, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster. In one year, HBG publishes approximately 1400+ adult books, 300 books for young readers, and 450 audiobook titles. In 2017, the company had 167 books on the New York Times bestseller list, 34 of which reached No. 1.

Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000, two employees and one magazine title, I Confess, and soon began turning out dozens of pulp magazines, which included penny-a-word detective stories, articles about films, and romance books.

The Crown Publishing Group is a subsidiary of Penguin Random House that publishes across several fiction and non-fiction categories. Originally founded in 1933 as a remaindered books wholesaler called Outlet Book Company, the firm expanded into publishing original content in 1936 under the Crown name, and was acquired by Random House in 1988. Under Random House's ownership, the Crown Publishing Group was operated as an independent division until 2018, when it was merged with the rest of Random House's adult programs.

The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) is a division of the American Library Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadway Books</span> American book publisher

Broadway Books is an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.. It released its first list in Fall 1996. Broadway was founded in 1995 as a unit of Bantam Doubleday Dell, a unit of Bertelsmann. Bertelsmann acquired Random House in 1998 and merged Broadway into a combined group with Doubleday the next year. Random House reorganized again in 2008, with Doubleday moving to Knopf and Broadway moving to its current home at Crown. Broadway's general-interest publishing was combined with Crown in 2010. Broadway became the paperback publisher for the Crown imprint in 2010.

Threshold Editions is an imprint of book publisher Simon & Schuster, a division of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, specializing in conservative non-fiction. The imprint was co-founded by Mary Matalin, serving as its first editor-in-chief, and Louise Burke, who served as publisher until 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Random House of Canada</span> Canadian book distributor

Random House of Canada was the Canadian distributor for Random House, Inc. from 1944 until 2013. On July 1, 2013, it amalgamated with Penguin Canada to become Penguin Random House Canada.

Sourcebooks LLC is an American book publisher located in Naperville, Illinois. The company publishes books, ebooks, and digital products.

References

  1. ↑ Milliot, Jim (March 31, 2022). "PRH Had a Record Year in 2021". Publishers Weekly .
  2. ↑ "Penguin Random House Limited overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". Companies House .
  3. ↑ Calamur, Krishnadev (October 29, 2012). "Penguin, Random House Announce Merger". NPR. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Pearson, Bertelsmann Confirm Publishing Tie-Up". NPR. October 29, 2012. Archived from the original on October 31, 2012. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
  5. ↑ jaaronson (June 2, 2021). "Welcome to Penguin: We Are What You Read". Penguin Books. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Company history | Penguin Random House" . Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  7. 1 2 Maher, John (April 2, 2020). "Bertelsmann Now Owns 100% of Penguin Random House". Publishers Weekly .
  8. 1 2 Sweney, Mark (March 22, 2021). "UK watchdog investigates Penguin owner's Simon & Schuster takeover". The Guardian. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Welcome to Penguin Random House". PenguinRandomhouse.com. April 1, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  10. 1 2 "CEO Markus Dohle Announces Penguin Random House Global Leadership Team" (PDF). Penguin Random House. July 1, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  11. ↑ Alter, Alexandra; Lee, Edmund (November 25, 2020). "Penguin Random House to Buy Simon & Schuster". The New York Times. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  12. ↑ Brian Stelter (November 2, 2021). "Justice Department sues to stop Penguin Random House's purchase of Simon & Schuster". CNN. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  13. ↑ Alter, Alexandra; Harris, Elizabeth A. (October 31, 2022). "Judge Blocks a Merger of Big Publishers". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  14. ↑ Harris, Elizabeth A.; Alter, Alexandra; Mullin, Benjamin (November 21, 2022). "A Huge Merger's Collapse Breaks a Pattern of Consolidation in Publishing". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Penguin and Random House complete merger" . The Telegraph. February 9, 2017. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022.
  16. ↑ Ciabattari, Jane (2013). "Now There Are 5". Library Journal . 138 (14). Media Source Inc.: 26–29.
  17. 1 2 3 "Imprints | Penguin Random House". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  18. 1 2 Charman-Anderson, Suw (July 29, 2013). "Book Country: Developing Authors And Audiences". Forbes.
  19. ↑ Gerard, Jeremy (September 24, 2014). "Universal, Penguin Random House in 2-year First-look Pact". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  20. ↑ Whittock, Jesse (November 30, 2015). "Penguin Random House makes TV play". TBI Magazine. Informa Telecoms & Media. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  21. ↑ Cowdrey, Katherine (January 7, 2016). "Pearson rebrand to reflect 100% focus on education". The Bookseller . Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  22. ↑ "Pearson sells 22% stake in Penguin Random House". BBC News. July 11, 2017. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  23. ↑ Sweney, Mark (July 11, 2017). "Pearson sells slice of Penguin for $1bn". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  24. ↑ Spahr, Wolfgang (December 18, 2019). "BMG Parent Bertelsmann to Acquire Full Stake in Penguin Random House". Billboard .
  25. ↑ Harris, Elizabeth A. (June 1, 2020). "Publishers Sue Internet Archive Over Free E-Books". The New York Times . Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  26. ↑ Text of Hachette Book Group, Inc. v. Internet Archive is available from: CourtListener
  27. ↑ Whitten, Sarah (November 25, 2020). "ViacomCBS Sells Simon & Schuster to Penguin Random House for $2 billion". CNBC. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  28. ↑ Kendall, Brent; Trachtenburg, Jeffrey A. (November 2, 2021). "Justice Department Sues to Block Penguin Random House's Acquisition of Simon & Schuster". The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  29. ↑ "Office of Public Affairs - Justice Department Obtains Permanent Injunction Blocking Penguin Random House's Proposed Acquisition of Simon & Schuster - United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. October 31, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  30. ↑ "Penguin scraps $2.2bn deal to buy rival publisher". BBC News. November 22, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  31. ↑ "Simon & Schuster purchased by private equity firm KKR for $1.62 billion". AP News. August 7, 2023. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  32. ↑ Gajewski, Ryan (July 10, 2024). "Penguin Random House to Acquire Boom! Studios". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  33. ↑ "About DK". DK Publishing. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  34. ↑ McDowell, Edwin (February 8, 1990). "Nat Wartels, 88, the Chairman Of the Crown Publishing Empire". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  35. ↑ Milliot, Jim. "Centrello Details Crown Reorg". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  36. ↑ "The Crown Publishing Group". The Crown Publishing Group. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  37. ↑ Rich, Motoko (April 18, 2007). "Pulitzer Prizes – Alfred A. Knopf – Books". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  38. ↑ "Imprints | Knopf Doubleday". Knopf Doubleday. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  39. ↑ "Random House – Bertelsmann AG". Bertelsmann (in German). Archived from the original on June 3, 2013. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  40. ↑ Brown, Lauren (June 28, 2023). "Penguin Random House unveils new pop-comics imprint to publish manga and more". The Bookseller . Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  41. ↑ Grobar, Matt (April 7, 2022). "Sugar23 & Random House Partner To Launch Co-Branded Publishing Imprint Sugar23 Books". Deadline. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  42. ↑ "Our Imprints". Random House. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  43. ↑ Williams, John (April 11, 2016). "Chris Jackson to Lead One World Imprint at Random House". Arts Beat. The New York Times. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  44. ↑ Reid, Calvin (April 11, 2016). "Chris Jackson to Relaunch One World Imprint". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  45. ↑ Nawotka, Ed (March 27, 2019). "PRH Acquires U.K.'s Little Tiger Group". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  46. ↑ Kantor, Emma (October 10, 2019). "New Venture: Random House Graphic". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  47. ↑ "Random House Children's Books". Random House. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  48. ↑ "Sourcebooks Launches Three Children's Imprints". Sourcebooks. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  49. ↑ Milliot, Jim (March 3, 2023). "Dominique Raccah Does It Her Way". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  50. ↑ Nawotka, Ed (February 2, 2023). "Penguin Random House Audio Acquires Playaway Products". Publishers Weekly . Archived from the original on February 2, 2023.
  51. ↑ Guía de editores de España: 1990–1991 [Editors' guide Spain: 1990–1991] (in Spanish). Federación de Gremios de Editores de España. 1990. ISBN   978-84-86141-08-0 . Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  52. ↑ "Santillana vende Ediciones Generales a Penguin Random House para centrarse en el área educativa". El País (in Spanish). Madrid: PRISA. March 19, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  53. ↑ "Penguin Random House India acquires Duckbill Books children's publishing division". Business Insider. November 29, 2019.
  54. ↑ "Penguin Random House India acquires the book publishing assets of Duckbill". penguin.co.in. November 29, 2019.
  55. ↑ "Offices". Penguin Random House.
  56. ↑ Schedeen, Jesse (March 25, 2021). "Marvel Comics Shifts to New Distributor in Industry-Rattling Move". IGN . Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  57. ↑ "IDW Publishing Expands Partnership with Penguin Random House Publisher Services in an Exclusive Multi-Year Agreement to Distribute IDW Comics Worldwide". IDW Publishing. September 17, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  58. ↑ "Dark Horse expands partnership with Penguin Random House Publisher Services". www.darkhorse.com. September 21, 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  59. ↑ "What's the Penguin About?". Bookcountry.com. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013.
  60. ↑ "Workshopping Community Book Country Hits Membership Milestone". Digitalbookworld.com. September 17, 2013. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013.

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