Attack of the Giant Penguin

Looking to offset the surge in electronic books and the growth of Web retail companies such as Amazon and Apple, two media conglomerates, England's Pearson and Germany's Bertelsmann, plan to create the world's largest book publisher, Penguin Random House ("PRH"), the Wall St. Journal reports today.

If it withstands antitrust review, the new entity would represent nearly 25 percent of the world's English-language book sales, according to the WSJ article. Authors who would publish under PRH include John Grisham, Tom Clancy, Toni Morrison and naughtynovelist E.L. James of Fifty Shades of Gray fame.

Bertelsmann will control 53 percent of PRH to Pearson's 47 percent interest in the joint venture. Random House CEO Markus Dohle is expected to oversee the entity and Penguin CEO John Makinson would serve as Chair of PRH, according to the WSJ piece.

Low 'Marks' for Bertesmann in Harsh 2009 Economy

Image by Alexander Smolianitski via Flickr

Media conglomerate Bertelsmann, whose holdings include RTL radio & television co. and publishing houses Gruener & Jahr and Random House, blamed the global economic downturn and an asset devaluation for a $111 million net loss in 2009.

In contrast, the media giant realized a $192 million profit in 2008. Overall, sales declined by 5 percent last year to $21.1 billion. A family trust is the principal owner of Bertelsman, though the company reported that shareholders would receive a total $81.2 million in dividends despite last year's net loss.