The Canadian government has given approval for Bertelsmann to acquire Random House of Canada and merge it with Bantam Books Canada and the book-publishing business of Doubleday Canada. The new entity will be known as Random House of Canada, although the imprints will retain their autonomy and editorial identity.
To gain approval for the merger, Random House made a number of commitments to the government; these include increasing the scope of its Canadian publishing programs; maintaining and then expanding its Mississauga distribution center; maintaining overall employment levels; and marketing its Canadian works to online retailers in Canada, the U.S. and Europe, contractual obligations permitting. Random retains the sole discretion to sign authors and to negotiate the terms of contracts.
Prior to the merger, David Kent served as president and publisher of Random House of Canada, while John Neale was president and publisher of Doubleday of Canada and president of Bantam Books Canada. The announcement of a new management staff will be made shortly.
