German publishing house Bertelsmann is to complete the acquisition of Penguin Random House (PRH) by buying the remaining 25% stake from Pearson for £530m.
Owner Pearson also gave a profits warning due to weak academic book sales in the US and announced the retirement of chief executive John Fallon.
Bertelsmann chief executive Thomas Rabe described the completion of the acquisition as a “milestone” for the company as it becomes the sole owner of the world’s largest book publisher. Revenues of PRH were reported to be £3.7bn in 2018. The deal is expected to close in early 2020.
