Markus Dohle, Chief Executive Officer of Penguin Random House, pictured during Bertelsmann Annual Press Conference on March 22, 2016 in Berlin, Germany.
Thomas Koehler | Photothek | Getty Images
Penguin Random House said Friday that CEO Markus Dohle will step down at the top of the yr, weeks after the collapse of a deal to merge Penguin with Simon & Schuster.
Nihar Malaviya, Penguin’s president and operating chief, will step in as interim CEO while the publishing company finds Dohle’s everlasting alternative.
“Following the antitrust decision within the U.S. against the merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster, I even have decided, after nearly 15 years on the Executive Board of Bertelsmann and on the helm of our global publishing business, at hand over the subsequent chapter of Penguin Random House to latest leadership,” Dohle said in a press release.
A federal judge sided with the Justice Department and blocked Penguin’s $2.2 billion acquisition of Simon & Schuster in late October. The DOJ claimed that a merger of the industry-dominating publishers could “lessen competition” out there.
Soon after the judge’s decision, Paramount Global, which owns Simon & Schuster, officially pulled the plug on the deal. Paramount noted that it might explore options to sell Simon & Schuster elsewhere.
Penguin disagreed with the DOJ’s ruling and had planned to appeal until Paramount subsequently backed out of the deal.
“We regret Markus Dohle’s decision to depart Bertelsmann and Penguin Random House,” said Christoph Mohn, chairman of Penguin parent Bertelsmann’s supervisory board. “He has sustainably focused Penguin Random House on growth and profitability. Under his leadership, our book division greater than doubled its revenues and quintupled its profit.”
