Random House, Penguin | featured news

The proposed merger of Penguin and Random House has been given the go-ahead by the European Commission. Brussels said the merged business - which will be the world's largest book publisher - would not raise competition concerns, because it will "face several strong competitors".

When you see a merger between two giants in a declining industry, it can look like the financial version of a couple having a baby to save a marriage. At least that was my thought when Random House and Penguin, two of the world’s six largest publishers, announced that they were coming together last month. Ever since Amazon began ripping apart the book business, the largest houses have been looking for a way to fight back. If this merger is any indication, they have chosen an old-fashioned strategy: Size.

Education and publishing group Pearson Plc and Germany's Bertelsmann said on Monday they have agreed to combine their publishing divisions, Penguin and Random House, with Bertelsmann holding the upper hand in the new entity.