Random House South Africa and Struik Publishers today announced their merger to create a significant new player in the African book publishing industry. The new company, known as Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd, brings together two of the country's most prominent book publishers under the leadership of Stephen Johnson.
The merger was finalised following approval from South Africa's Competition Commission. The new company will be 50.1% owned by New Holland Publishing SA (Pty) Ltd, with the balance held by the Random House Group Ltd in London. New Holland Publishing SA is fully owned by Avusa (formerly Johnnic Communications). Prior to the deal, Avusa held a 25% stake in Random House SA, controlled by Random House UK.
Stephen Johnson will report to Brian Wootton, the CEO of New Holland Publishing SA. Chris Napier, formerly Chief Operating Officer of Jonathan Ball Publishers, has been appointed General Manager of the Random House division of the new entity.
Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd's local publishing, which will promote books written in both English and Afrikaans, will drive half the company's output. It is underpinned by Struik's 47–year heritage publishing mainly non–fiction African titles under the Struik, Zebra Press and Oshun Books imprints. Random House SA's local imprint Umuzi, established three years ago to mark the company's 40th anniversary in South Africa, will continue to publish new voices in both fiction and non-fiction.
Struik's previous bestselling local titles include In Black and White: The Jake White Story by Jake White (Zebra Press) which sold over 200,000 copies last year. Umuzi's bestselling title to date is Dark Continent my Black Arse by Sihle Khumalo, closely followed by Odyssey to Freedom by George Bizos and a number of titles by popular author Antjie Krog.
The Random House Group will balance this local publishing strength through its many diverse and highly respected imprints, providing Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd with internationally acclaimed authors such as James Patterson, Ian McEwan, Philip Roth, Toni Morrison, Salman Rushdie, Bill Bryson, Richard Branson, Andy McNab, Terry Pratchett, Lee Child, Jilly Cooper, Robert Harris, Dan Brown, Chris Ryan, Mark Haddon, Philip Pullman and Jacqueline Wilson. The Group is also the international publisher of lauded South African writers such as J M Coetzee and Andre Brink, as well as Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
The merger will also create a stronger platform for the company to move into digital publishing and gain access to new audiences worldwide. Struik's well–established trading network also means the company is well placed to serve markets on the African continent.
Stephen Johnson comments: “Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd will unite the skills and resources of Random House as the international powerhouse of book publishing, with those of South Africa's foremost and probably best–known publisher of local books.
“We are enormously excited by the prospect of building the local content of our business, supporting new and established writers to feed the passions and interests of South Africans, who are showing a growing appetite for books and reading.”
At the annual book trade awards dinner on August 19th 2008, Random House was named as the Best Trade Publisher of the Year by The SA Booksellers' Association (SABA). Zebra Press's In Black and White: The Jake White Story won the Nielsen Book Data Booksellers' Choice Book of the Year prize while Zebra Press was named the Most Innovative Trade Publisher of the Year by the SABA Executive.
Gail Rebuck, Chair and Chief Executive, The Random House Group comments: “We are extremely pleased to be increasing our investment in South Africa and look forward to working even more closely with Avusa and New Holland who are already our long-term partners in the market. This move is not only a major expression of confidence in South Africa's book industry, which continues to grow, but in the country and its rich literary talents.”
Prakash Desai, Group Chief Executive, Avusa comments: “We believe that combining our local book publishing business with that of Random House in South Africa creates an entity with a substantially more diversified offering that will leverage our local publishing expertise and the significant international reach of the Random Group. Through this new entity we look forward to offering book readers the very best of both local and international titles.”
Notes to editors
New Holland Publishing SA (Pty) Ltd is part of Avusa Ltd. Prior to the merger, Avusa held a 25% stake in Random House (Pty) Ltd with the balance of shares owned by the Random House Group Ltd.
The merger deal affects Random House Group and New Holland businesses in South Africa only.
For more information, please contact:
Stephen Johnson, Managing Director
Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd
(021) 462 4360 or 082 458 4587
About The Random House Group
The Random House Group is one of the largest general book publishing companies in the UK. The Group is based in London with subsidiary companies in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India. The Group comprises six publishing companies with over 40 diverse and highly respected imprints and brand-name publishers including BBC Books, Jonathan Cape, Secker and Warburg, William Heinemann, Chatto & Windus, Vintage, Corgi, Doubleday, Bantam Press and Virgin Books.
Novelists published by the Group include Dan Brown, Jilly Cooper, John Grisham, Chris Ryan, Robert Harris, Mark Haddon, Ian McEwan, Martin Amis, Richard Branson, Toni Morrison, Philip Roth, Andy McNab and Terry Pratchett. Random House's non-fiction publishing consists of broad general non–fiction and specialist categories such as cookery, gardening, travel and business books. Notable authors of non–fiction include, Bill Bryson, Nigella Lawson and Delia Smith. The Group's classic backlist of over 6,000 titles includes the works of Graham Greene, Iris Murdoch and Virginia Woolf amongst others. Random House Children's Books publishes many bestselling writers including Philip Pullman and Jacqueline Wilson, the former Children's Laureate. The Random House Group distribution business services its own imprints as well as 50 other UK publishers.
About Struik Publishers
For over 47 years the Struik name has been synonymous with publications of superb quality, meticulous production and unrivalled innovation. Its ongoing commitment to these qualities keeps it at the forefront of African publishing.
While many of its illustrated titles strive to capture the visual essence of Africa, its Zebra Press imprint — representing Africa in black-and-white — provides a more text–based view of the world of Africa and its Oshun Books imprint caters for women, with life guides, memoirs and light-hearted entertainment. Together they provide the whole that is Struik Publishers — the African ‘footprint’ in world publishing.
New Holland Publishing SA (Pty) Ltd is part of Avusa Ltd (formerly Johnnic Communications) and includes subsidiaries in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, as well as Struik Christian Media, Map IT, Map Studio and the specialist book distribution facility Booksite Afrika, which services both Random House in South Africa and Struik Publishers.
