Who owns Penguin Random House?
Penguin Random House is owned by Bertelsmann (Germany).[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA Annual Report 2025, 31 March 2026. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA reported
- Owner HQ
- 🇩🇪 Germany, Gütersloh
- Origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Founded
- 2013
- Category
- Media & entertainment › Publishing › Book publishers
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Penguin Random House
Penguin Random House is the largest trade book publisher in the world, formed in 2013 from two of the largest houses. American courts blocked its attempt to buy Simon & Schuster in 2022, on the grounds it would depress what authors are paid.
Ownership timeline of Penguin Random House
- Current owner Bertelsmann [1] reported
Where Penguin Random House sits in Bertelsmann
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Bertelsmann ownership tree →
See the full Bertelsmann brand portfolio (4) →
Other brands owned by Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann controls 4 brands on Brandtree, 4 of them in media & entertainment.
Also in media & entertainment
- BMG (2008)
- Penguin Books (1935)
- RTL (1984)
Other brands in book publishers, and who owns them
The 34 brands in book publishers on Brandtree belong to 9 owners. The largest is Lagardère, with 13; Bertelsmann has 2.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Bragelonne | Lagardère | 🇫🇷 France |
| Bokfabriken | Storytel | 🇸🇪 Sweden |
| Clifford the Big Red Dog | Scholastic | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Macmillan Education | Springer Nature | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| Dummies | Wiley | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Kids Can Press | Corus | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| Kadokawa Bunko | Kadokawa | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| HarperCollins | News Corp | 🇺🇸 United States |
About the owner: Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann is a family-owned company headquartered in Gütersloh, Germany, founded in 1835. Brandtree records 4 brands under its control.
Bertelsmann began as a religious publisher in Westphalia in 1835 and is now among the largest media companies in Europe, controlled by a foundation and the founding Mohn family. It owns the largest English-language book publisher in the world and Europe's biggest commercial broadcaster.
🇺🇸 Penguin Random House and other American brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 2,549 brands that began in the United States. 478 of them (19%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country, Penguin Random House among them.
- 20th Century Studios — Disney 🇺🇸
- AMC — AMC Networks 🇺🇸
- AMC Theatres — AMC Theatres 🇺🇸
- AMF — Lucky Strike Entertainment 🇺🇸
- Adventure Island — United Parks 🇺🇸
- Antenna TV — Nexstar 🇺🇸
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Penguin Random House?
The parent company of Penguin Random House is Bertelsmann, a family-owned company headquartered in Germany.
Is Penguin Random House American or German?
Penguin Random House originated in the United States in 2013, but it is owned today by Bertelsmann, which is headquartered in Germany. So Penguin Random House is an American-origin brand under German ownership.
Is Penguin Random House still owned by Bertelsmann?
Yes. As of 16 September 2026, Penguin Random House is still owned by Bertelsmann. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA Annual Report 2025 — Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA, Annual report, published 31 March 2026; retrieved 16 September 2026.
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