- Markus Dohle has served as CEO of Penguin Random House since 2013.
- Merger with Simon & Schuster was denied owing to competitive problems.
- Nihar Malaviya will take over as interim CEO on January 1.
Penguin Random House’s CEO has resigned, citing the US government’s decision to block the company’s $2.2 billion acquisition of Simon & Schuster.
The business said that Markus Dohle will leave at the end of the year and that it was “at his own request and on the best of mutual terms.”
Since 2013, when Penguin became the biggest book publisher in the world after a major merger, Mr. Dohle has served as its leader.
The acquisition of Simon & Schuster was abandoned due to competition issues.
A US judge sided with the US government, which had sought to thwart the merger on the grounds that the alliance would result in lower pay and fewer possibilities for writers.
“Following the antitrust decision in the US against the merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster, I have decided, after nearly 15 years… to hand over the next chapter of Penguin Random House to new leadership,” Mr. Dohle said.
Nihar Malaviya, who oversees Penguin’s US operations at the moment, will take over as interim CEO on January 1.
In 2013, Penguin and Random House, both based in New York, merged to create Penguin Random House.
Sylvia Plath, George Orwell, and Virginia Woolf are just a few of the well-known authors with whom Penguin has collaborated.
Books by Marian Keyes, Dan Brown, and Zadie Smith were recently published by it.
Stephen King, Jennifer Weiner, and Hillary Clinton, a previous candidate for the US presidency, are among the authors published by Simon & Schuster.
The US government, which has taken a tougher stance against monopolies under US President Joe Biden, sent Mr. King, among other well-known figures, to testify in favor of the opposition to the merger.
Despite initially declaring it would challenge the US ruling, Bertelsmann finally abandoned the agreement. A $200 million breakup fee is being paid.
Since 1994, Mr. Dohle has performed a variety of jobs with Bertelsmann. When the massive merger with Penguin was announced by Random House, he was the company’s boss.
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