Canadian Authorities Cleared Penguin Random House

• Bertelsmann welcomes decisions by Canadian Competition Bureau and Department of Canadian Heritage
• Another approval without conditions
• Closing once all official approvals are in

GÜTERSLOH, Germany, April 20, 2013 /CNW/ - The Canadian Competition Bureau and the Department of Canadian Heritage have cleared the planned merger of Penguin Group and Random House without conditions. The two international media companies Bertelsmann and Pearson welcome the Canadian authorities' decision as another important step on the way to completing the combination of their respective publishing companies Random House and Penguin Group to Penguin Random House.

On February 14, 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice was the first authority to approve the planned merger - also without conditions. This was followed by approvals in Australia and New Zealand. On April 5, the EU Commission in Brussels also approved the planned combination without conditions. Other regulatory authorities are still reviewing the transaction. After all necessary approvals have been received, Bertelsmann and Pearson can close the transaction. The two companies are confident that the approvals will be forthcoming during the course of the year.

The new publishing group, whose planned establishment the two partners had announced last October, will be 53 percent owned by Bertelsmann and 47 percent owned by Pearson. Penguin Random House will encompass all Random House and Penguin Group publishing units in the U.S. and U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa, as well as Penguin's activities in China and Random House's publishers in Spain and Latin America.

About Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann is an international media company whose core divisions encompass television (RTL Group), book publishing (Random House), magazine publishing (Gruner + Jahr), services (Arvato), and printing (Be Printers) in some 50 countries. In 2012, the company's businesses, with their more than 100,000 employees, generated revenues of €16.1 billion. Bertelsmann stands for a combination of creativity and entrepreneurship that empowers the creation of first-rate media, communications, and service offerings to inspire people around the world and to provide innovative solutions for customers.

SOURCE: Bertelsmann

Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA
Markus Harbaum
Phone: +49 - 52 41 - 80 888 55
[email protected]