Pearson confirms: Random House and Penguin are in the discussion to merge

The news that Penguin and Random House are in talk about merging their organizations just broke on twitter.  My opinion:  Take it with a pinch of salt. A big one. Yes, they are talking, but there are nothing decided yet. Not to mention that a deal at this size must get accepted by both the FTC and the German equivalent.  And EU takes a strict view on big companies merging.  

That said, I think that this is just the start.  The publishing industry is in upheaval. Print is declining ( esp. massmarket) and e-books are booming. And the publishers structure isn’t adapted to e-books. The other publishers realise that something must be done.  Simon and Schuster just reorganized their imprints,  and I am sure Macmillan and HarperCollins are planning changes as well.