Bertelsmann is a global media company and the Berlin-based parent of music firm BMG.
With headquarters in Berlin, Bertelsmann operates in the core business fields of media, services and education in around 50 countries worldwide.
In addition to BMG, Bertelsmann’s subsidiary companies include the broadcaster RTL Group, the trade book publisher Penguin Random House, the magazine publisher Gruner + Jahr, the service provider Arvato, the Bertelsmann Printing Group, the Bertelsmann Education Group and Bertelsmann Investments, an international network of funds.
Bertelsmann and its subsidiary companies share 126,000 employees globally. Bertelsmann generated revenues of €18.0 billion in the 2019 financial year.
BMG and Simon & Schuster acquisitions
In 2013, Bertelsmann acquired the 51% holding in BMG that it didn’t already own from its partner in the music company, KKR.
The deal to acquire the stake in Bertelsmann cost the German company approximately $1 billion, according to Reuters.
In November 2020, Bertelsmann confirmed it had agreed a deal to acquire the book publisher Simon & Schuster.
The deal, worth $2.175 billion, was agreed between Bertelsmann’s Penguin Random House and the seller of Simon & Schuster, ViacomCBS.Music Business Worldwide