Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial (PRHGE) in Portugal has acquired Grupo 20/20 Editora, a top five publishing house in Portugal, and will merge the companies under a new name, Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial Portugal. The new company will have a backlist of some 4,000 titles and, together with books produced by PRH-controlled companies in Brazil, will publish about 650 new books a year.
PRHGE will hold 85% of the company and the founder of 20/20 Editora, Manuel de Freitas, will control the other 15%. The acquisition includes the Book Company, an events, training, and consulting firm, as well as Bookoffice, a literary agency.
"It is a privilege to broaden the scope and strength of our publishing programs in Portugal by uniting the catalogs of Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial and 20/20 Editora," Markus Dohle, the CEO of Penguin Random House worldwide, said in a statement. "Together, we will bring our authors' excellent work to as many readers as possible nationally and internationally as we strive to create the next generation of readers and strengthen the future of books in our society."
