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조지 오웰의 “1984” 와 E L 제임스의 “그레이의 50가지 그림자”의 공통점은 뭘까? 2013 하반기 이들은 같은 출판사 작품이 된다. 세계 최대 출판사인 영국의 펭귄북스와 독일의 랜덤하우스가 합병을 진행하고 있기 때문이다.
이들은 유럽연합(EU) 집행위원회가 토요일 영국 미디어기업 피어슨그룹의 출판사업부 펭귄북스와 독일 베텔스만 출판사업부 랜덤하우스의 합병을 승인함에 따라 이루어졌다.
이번 합병은 “(되더라도) 여러 경쟁사들과의 경쟁이 남아있기 때문에 독과점에 대한 부담을 증식시키지 않는다”고 EU 집행위원회는 밝혔다.
양사는 “펭귄랜덤하우스”라는 이름으로 신설법인을 출범시킨다. 이는 세계 최대 규모의 출판사가 될 것으로 보이며 영미시장 점유율도 25퍼센트에 달한다. 펭귄북스의 모회사인 피어슨그룹과 랜덤하우스의 모회사인 베텔스만은 신설법인의 지분을 각각 47퍼센트와 53퍼센트 소유할 계획이다.
업계 종사자들은 이번 합병에 의미가 상당히 있음을 언급하고 다른 대형출판사들의 합병에 촉진제 역할을 할 것이라고 관측했다.
BBC에 따르면 이번 합병은 “불가피했다.” 날이 갈수록 거대해지는 전자책 시장, 전자책을 도입한 아마존과 의 경쟁과 아마존의 가격파괴전으로 합병 이외에는 뾰족한 대안이 없었다는 것이다.
펭귄랜덤하우스의 모회사에 따르면 양사는 자회사 브랜드를 최대한 유지하도록 노력하기에 합의했다고 밝혔다.
또 이번 합병은 양사가 비용을 절감하고 투자처에 대한 자원 확보와 새로운 비즈니스 모델을 공격적으로 양성하는데 있어 도움이 될 것이다. 이들의 연수익은 38억 달러로 예상되어진다.
출판업계는 업계 “빅6”인 햇챗, 하퍼콜린스, 맥밀란과 시몬 앤 슈스터 등이 경쟁에 합류하기 위해 합병할 것인지를 주시하고 있다. (코리아헤럴드)
<관련 영문 기사>
[Newsmaker] Mega publishers merge to fight e-books
What do George Orwell’s “1984” and E.L. James’ “Fifty Shades of Grey” have in common? Starting later on in 2013, they’ll both be owned by the same company after a merger is completed between publishing heavyweights Penguin and Random House.
The two have received unconditional approval from several regulatory commissions on competition in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with the latest coming from the European Union on Saturday.
The merger does not “raise competition concerns, in particular because the merged entity will continue to face several strong competitors,” according to the EU Commission in a statement.
Upon completion, the two will form Penguin Random House, the largest publisher in the world with a 26 percent global market share. Penguin’s parent company, Britain’s Pearson PLC media group, and Germany’s Bertelsmann SE, the parent company of Random House, will split the company at 47 percent and 53 percent, respectively.
Observers say that the move is significant and could start a trend with other major publishers looking to combine.
They said it was “inevitable,” according to the BBC, as firms struggle to stay afloat amid the ever-increasing e-book market and growing competition with newest e-book competitor, Amazon.com, and its aggressive price-cutting on e-books.
According to the publishing houses’ parent companies, both have agreed to try and keep their imprints, or subsidiary publishing brands, independent.
Also, the merger will save both companies money, allow for more resources for investment and help nurture adventurous forays into new business models. Their combined annual revenue will stand at about $3.8 billion.
The business world, however, is watching to see if any other members of the “big six” publishers ― Hatchette, HarperCollins, Macmillan and Simon & Schuster ― will decide to merge in order to up the competition.
By Emma Kalka (ekalka@heraldcorp.com)
[Newsmaker] Mega publishers merge to fight e-books
What do George Orwell’s “1984” and E.L. James’ “Fifty Shades of Grey” have in common? Starting later on in 2013, they’ll both be owned by the same company after a merger is completed between publishing heavyweights Penguin and Random House.
The two have received unconditional approval from several regulatory commissions on competition in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with the latest coming from the European Union on Saturday.
The merger does not “raise competition concerns, in particular because the merged entity will continue to face several strong competitors,” according to the EU Commission in a statement.
Upon completion, the two will form Penguin Random House, the largest publisher in the world with a 26 percent global market share. Penguin’s parent company, Britain’s Pearson PLC media group, and Germany’s Bertelsmann SE, the parent company of Random House, will split the company at 47 percent and 53 percent, respectively.
Observers say that the move is significant and could start a trend with other major publishers looking to combine.
They said it was “inevitable,” according to the BBC, as firms struggle to stay afloat amid the ever-increasing e-book market and growing competition with newest e-book competitor, Amazon.com, and its aggressive price-cutting on e-books.
According to the publishing houses’ parent companies, both have agreed to try and keep their imprints, or subsidiary publishing brands, independent.
Also, the merger will save both companies money, allow for more resources for investment and help nurture adventurous forays into new business models. Their combined annual revenue will stand at about $3.8 billion.
The business world, however, is watching to see if any other members of the “big six” publishers ― Hatchette, HarperCollins, Macmillan and Simon & Schuster ― will decide to merge in order to up the competition.
By Emma Kalka (ekalka@heraldcorp.com)
