Word: randomly
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...loss statements of Simon & Schuster, owned by Viacom, and of HarperCollins, controlled by News Corp., but couldn't make a deal. For Bertelsmann, the world's third largest media company, the merger immediately establishes a long-sought commanding presence in the U.S., the world's largest media market. "Random House is a dream for Bertelsmann," says Thomas Middelhoff, 44, who engineered the deal just six months before officially stepping into the CEO's job. "I was as surprised as everyone else," says Sonny Mehta, president of Knopf, a prestigious Random House division. "I thought about it and said...
...firm, which published the Brothers Grimm in the 19th century, is vertically integrated, with everything from a printing company to a book club. "Other corporations don't view trade publishing as a core business," says Bertelsmann's Peter Olson, 47, who will become chairman and CEO of the new Random House. "We do; we believe in books; they are not a stepchild...
...acquisitive Middelhoff picked up Random House as if it were a souvenir. Last fall he came to the U.S. to study English and learn about the American publishing industry. At a 70th-birthday bash for Si Newhouse, he mentioned to the birthday boy that if Advance were ever interested in selling Random House, Bertelsmann would be interested in buying. A week later the clandestine deal, code-named Project Black, was under...
...Bertelsmann deal. "The decision of what is on the shelves is in the hands of a few," laments Paul Aiken, executive director of the Authors Guild. "This is consolidation in a major and disturbing way." Industry alarmists are concerned that advances are sure to dwindle when BDD and Random House are no longer competing for books. Bertelsmann disagrees. "I've heard much concern about advances in the past six years," says new Random House head Olson, "and they have only moved in one direction." North. Facing his critics, he says, "We are not looking to cut back on imprints...
...what might that mean? Middelhoff doesn't mince words. "Random House is a case study," he says. "We'd like to do it again with a music label." Maybe on his next trip...