42-594: 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
84-523: A Bertelsmann subsidiary. He became an executive at Arvato in 2006. Dohle headed the printing division at Bertelsmann, Random House's parent company, before moving to Random House. Dohle was named the CEO of Random House in 2008, before its merger with Penguin Books . Dohle was considered an "outsider" when he became CEO of Random House; although he had experience in the printing industry, he had not worked on
126-835: A company he bought a person." In 2003, Random House reentered the distribution business. Coinciding with the 2007–2008 financial crisis, the publishing industry was hit hard with weak retail sales. In May 2008, Random House CEO Peter Olson stepped down and was replaced by Markus Dohle . In October of that year, Doubleday, a division of Random House, announced that they would lay off 16 people, representing approximately 10% of its workforce. In early December 2008, which became known as Black Wednesday in publishing circles, many publishers including Random House took steps by restructuring their divisions and laying off employees. The reorganization consolidated and created three divisions, including Random House Publishing Group, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, and Crown Publishing Group. Susan Kamil
168-630: A hundred percent subsidiary of Bertelsmann instead but de facto is led by the same management. It is the second largest book publisher in Germany with more than 40 imprints, including historic publishing houses Goldmann and Heyne Verlag , as well as C. Bertelsmann, the publishing house from which today's Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA would eventually evolve. Verlagsgruppe Random House is headquartered in Munich (with additional locations in Gütersloh (where Bertelsmann
210-601: A series of classical literature reprints. In 1965, RCA bought Random House as part of a diversification strategy. Random House acquired the paperback book publisher Ballantine Books in 1973. RCA sold Random House to Advance Publications in 1980. Random House began publishing audiobooks in 1985. In 1988, Random House acquired Crown Publishing Group . Also in 1988, McGraw-Hill acquired Random House's Schools and Colleges division. In 1998, Bertelsmann AG bought Random House and merged it with Bantam Doubleday Dell and it soon went global. In 1999, Random House acquired
252-618: A strong foothold: food, lifestyle, health, wellness, business, and Christian." "We must invest even more aggressively in title-level and scaled marketing programs, capabilities and partnerships", she added. In 2019, Penguin Random House acquired British children's book publisher Little Tiger Group, including Tiger Tales Press, a U.S. subsidiary, and added it to Random House Children's Books. Penguin Random House announced an agreement to purchase Boom! Studios in July 2024, where Boom! would become part of Random House Worlds. The publisher's main office in
294-804: A total of 365 imprints. As of 2021, Penguin Random House employed about 10,000 people globally and published 15,000 titles annually under its 250 divisions and imprints. 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. On November 25, 2020, The New York Times reported that Penguin Random House
336-413: 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. 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. Dohle
378-507: Is based in Glenfield , Auckland , while Random House's Indian headquarters are located in New Delhi. Verlagsgruppe Random House was established after Bertelsmann's 1998 acquisition of Random House, grouping its German imprints (until then operating as Verlagsgruppe Bertelsmann) under the new name; before April 2020, it has explicitly no legal part of the worldwide Penguin Random House company and
420-788: Is being reintegrated with the main Penguin Random House company and now known as Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe. Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial is Random House's Spanish-language division, targeting markets in Spain and Hispanic America . It is headquartered in Barcelona with locations in Argentina , Chile , Colombia , Mexico , Venezuela , Uruguay , and the United States. From 2001 until November 2012, it
462-683: Is headquartered), Cologne , and Aßlar ), employs about 850 people, and publishes roughly 2,500 titles per year. Following the formation of Penguin Random House, a Penguin Verlag (with no legal connection to Penguin Books) was founded for the German market in 2015, as part of the Verlagsgruppe Random House. With Bertelsmann acquiring full ownership of Penguin Random House in April 2020, Verlagsgruppe Random House
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#1733093154242504-776: Is located in Rushden in Northamptonshire. In 1989, Century Hutchinson was folded into the British Random House Group , briefly known as Random Century (1990–92), Century became an imprint of the group's Cornerstone Publishing. The Random House Group also operates branches in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa (as a joint venture under the name Random House Struik ), and India as part of its overseas structure. In Australia offices are in Sydney and Melbourne . In New Zealand it
546-522: 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. Random House was founded in 1927 by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer , two years after they acquired the Modern Library imprint from publisher Horace Liveright, which reprints classic works of literature. Cerf
588-455: Is quoted as saying, "We just said we were going to publish a few books on the side at random", which suggested the name Random House. In 1934, they published the first authorized edition of James Joyce 's novel Ulysses in the Anglophone world. Ulysses transformed Random House into a formidable publisher over the next two decades. In 1936, it acquired Smith and Haas, and Robert Haas became
630-602: The American College Dictionary , which was followed in 1966 by its first unabridged dictionary . In October 1959, Random House went public at $ 11.25 a share. This was a factor in decisions by other publishing companies, including Simon & Schuster , to later go public. American publishers Alfred A. Knopf , Inc. and Beginner Books were acquired by Random House in 1960, followed by Pantheon Books in 1961; works continue to be published under these imprints with editorial independence, such as Everyman's Library ,
672-591: The Canadian distributor of Random House Books. In 1986, Random House of Canada established its own indigenous Canadian publishing program that has become one of the most successful in Canadian history. Until January 2012, it used to hold a 25% stake in McClelland & Stewart , with the remaining 75% being controlled by the University of Toronto . It is now the sole owner of McClelland & Stewart. Takeda Random House Japan
714-487: The Crown Publishing Group. According to Madeline McIntosh, chief executive of Penguin Random House U.S., the two lines "will retain their distinct editorial identities." McIntosh explained some of the motivation behind the merger in a memo to employees, writing, "Book discovery and buying patterns continue to shift, resulting in growth opportunities in the nonfiction categories in which Crown in particular already has
756-607: The United States is located in Penguin Random House Tower , which was constructed in 2009 at 1745 Broadway in Manhattan . The 684-foot (210 m) building spans the west side of the block between West 55th and West 56th Streets. The building's lobby showcases floor-to-ceiling glassed-in bookcases, which are filled with books published by the company and its subsidiaries. Prior to moving to Penguin Random House Tower,
798-614: The acquisition would create a publisher with too much influence over books and author payments. In October 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of the Justice Department. 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 . Simon & Schuster would instead be sold to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts on October 30, 2023. In July 2024, it
840-457: The business to Bertelsmann, thereby retaining a 25% holding. On December 18, 2019, Bertelsmann agreed to acquire Pearson's 25% stake in Penguin Random House, making it a wholly owned subsidiary of Bertelsmann. The sale was completed on April 2, 2020. 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
882-429: The children's audiobook publisher Listening Library,and sold its distribution division. In 2001, Phyllis E. Grann joined Random House as vice chairman. Grann was the CEO for Putnam and had grown that house from $ 10 million in revenue in 1976, to more than $ 200 million by 1993 and without increasing their title output. A publishing insider commented that then CEO Peter Olson was, "I think maybe instead of buying
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#1733093154242924-521: The company in Asia . Random House Home Video was a home video unit established by Random House in 1983 as Random House Video until 1988, the publisher of Dr. Seuss 's books. It was renamed in 1984. Random House's home video division was currently the distributor of some shows, such as Sesame Street (1986–1994), The Busy World of Richard Scarry (1993–2005), Arthur (1996–2006), and The Berenstain Bears ,
966-1204: The company was headquartered at 457 Madison Avenue , 20 East 57th Street, and 201 East 50th Street, all in Manhattan. Random House, Inc. maintains several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. The Random House Group is one of the largest general book publishing companies in the United Kingdom ; it is based in London. The group comprises nine publishing companies: Cornerstone Publishing, Vintage Publishing , Ebury Publishing , Transworld Publishers , Penguin Random House Children's, Penguin Random House UK Audio, Penguin Michael Joseph, Penguin Press, and Penguin General. Its distribution business services its own imprints, as well as 40 other UK publishers through Grantham Book Services. The Random House archive and library
1008-455: 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
1050-510: The editorial side of publishing. Dohle supervised the 2013 merger of Penguin and Random House. He became CEO on 1 July 2013. In September 2021, Dohle gave the opening speech at the Frankfurt Book Fair . Discussing a proposed merger between Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster , Dohle said that the merger's aim was to "create the future of books". On 9 December 2022, Dohle announced his departure from Penguin Random House. He
1092-406: The film, One Day in 2011. The company also creates story content for media including video games, social networks on the web, and mobile platforms. Random House is one of the largest English language publishers, and part of a group of publishers once known as the "Big 6" and now known as the "Big Five". In October 2012, Bertelsmann entered into talks with rival conglomerate Pearson plc , over
1134-401: The merger of Penguin Books and Random House . Penguin Books was originally founded in 1935 and Random House was founded in 1927. 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. On April 2, 2020, Bertelsmann announced
1176-580: The original 1985–1987 animated television series (1989–2005, 2008–2009), and Golden Books (2001–2005). In 1994, they began distributing through Sony Wonder . Random House Home Video became dormant around 2005, but Sony Wonder still continued to use Random House Home Video's logo on Arthur VHS tapes and DVDs until 2006. Penguin Random House Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with
1218-486: The possibility of combining their respective publishing companies, Random House and Penguin Group . On July 1, 2013, the merger was completed, and the new company emerged as Penguin Random House . When founded, Bertelsmann owned 53% of the joint venture while Pearson owned 47%. Pearson sold 22% of its shares to Bertelsmann in July 2017, and since April 2020, it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bertelsmann, making Random House division again wholly owned by German parent. At
1260-577: The producer of films based on Penguin Random House books. The Universal subsidiary Focus Features has frequently collaborated with Random House Films. 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. In November 2015, Pearson announced it would rebrand to focus on its education division. On July 11, 2017, Pearson sold 22% of its stake in
1302-469: The site is no longer operational. Markus Dohle Markus Dohle (born 28 June 1968) is a German businessperson. He was the chief executive officer of Penguin Random House from July 2013 to December 2022. Markus Dohle was born on 28 June 1968 in Arnsberg . He attended the University of Karlsruhe , where he studied industrial engineering and management. As of 2005, Dohle headed Mohn Media-Gruppe,
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1344-552: The third partner until retiring and selling his share back to Cerf and Klopfer in 1956. The acquisition of Smith and Haas added authors, including William Faulkner , Isak Dinesen , André Malraux , Robert Graves , and Jean de Brunhoff , who wrote the Babar children's books. Random House also hired editors Harry Maule, Robert Linscott, and Saxe Commins, and they brought authors such as Sinclair Lewis and Robert Penn Warren with them. Random House entered reference publishing in 1947 with
1386-433: The time of the acquisition the combined companies controlled 25% of the book business with more than 10,000 employees and 250 independent publishing imprints and with about $ 3.9 billion in annual revenues. The move to consolidate was to provide leverage against Amazon.com and battle the shrinking state of bookstores . In October 2018, Penguin Random House merged two of its most known publishing lines, Random House and
1428-456: Was a joint venture with Italian publisher Mondadori (Random House Mondadori). Upon Bertelsmann's acquisition of Mondadori's stake in the JV, the name was kept temporarily four months. Some Spanish-language authors published by Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial include Roberto Bolaño , Javier Marías , Mario Vargas Llosa and Guillermo Arriaga . Random House of Canada was established in 1944 as
1470-412: Was a subsidiary online writing and publishing community. 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 . As of September 2013, the site had more than 10,000 members. As of November 2020,
1512-506: Was announced that Penguin Random House would acquire comic book publisher Boom! Studios . DK (Dorling Kindersley) was founded in London in 1974. As of 2015, DK also has official publishing relationships with Angry Birds , Lego , Marvel , Star Wars , and Disney . 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. In 2018, Crown
1554-984: Was combined with the main Random House Publishing Group. Penguin Young Readers Group is a division devoted to books for young readers and young adults. 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. It also handles direct market distribution for Marvel Comics starting October 1, 2021, direct market distribution for IDW Publishing starting June 1, 2022, and direct market distribution for Dark Horse Comics starting June 1, 2023. Book Country
1596-567: Was denying authors and publishers revenue and accusing the library of "willful mass copyright infringement". 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. 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
1638-586: Was founded in May 2003 as a joint venture between Kodansha and Random House. In 2009, Random House discontinued the joint venture. Takeda Random House Japan filed for bankruptcy on December 14, 2012. In 2006, Random House invested in Random House Korea . In 2010, Random House divested their ownership. In April 2010, Random House Australia managing director, Margie Seale, was assigned the responsibilities of exploring and evaluating potential business opportunities for
1680-439: 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. Penguin Random House relaunched Book Country, Penguin's online writing community, on July 29, 2013. On September 24, 2014, Random House Studio signed a first-look production deal with Universal Pictures , under which Random House would be
1722-472: Was named editorial director for Dial Press and editor-in-chief of Random House imprints reporting to Gina Centrello, the president and publisher of the Random House Publishing Group. There were layoffs at Doubleday , now part of Knopf Publishing Group , and Dial Press , Bantam Dell . Spiegel & Grau was moved from Doubleday over to Random House. Random House also has an entertainment production arm for film and television, Random House Studio; which released
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1764-399: Was planning to purchase Simon & Schuster from Paramount Global for $ 2.175 billion. 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. The deal formally collapsed on November 22, 2022. Penguin Random House was formed on July 1, 2013 by Markus Dohle upon the completion of
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