Publishers Random House and Penguin talking about merger

The world’s two largest book publishers may merge to better compete with Amazon and Apple...

Publishers Random House and Penguin are in early merger talks designed to help them advance in the field of publishing, and to help them better compete with technology giants Apple and Amazon.

Although nothing is final yet, the two book publishers are said to be weighing up the options of merging together to better respond to the rising popularity of ebooks.

The merger, should it push through, will combine the companies who are behind Nigella Lawson’s latest Italian cooking adventure and Pippa Middleton’s party planning guide.

Random House, the company behind Fifty Shades of Grey, has had great success this year selling more than 30million books. 

“Pearson confirms that it is discussing with Bertelsmann a possible combination of Penguin and Random House,” a company statement said.

“The two companies have not reached agreement and there is no certainty that the discussions will lead to a transaction. A further announcement will be made if and when appropriate.”

“The media landscape has changed a great deal with the arrival of Apple, Amazon and Google. Publishers need to be able to leverage their content across the widest range of platforms,” Philip Downer, former Chief Executive of Borders UK, who now runs the retail consultancy Front of Store, told the BBC.