Bertelsmann

Bertelsmann is a German group of media whose origin goes up with creation in 1835 of the printing works of Carl Bertelsmann with Gütersloh.

In 2004, Bertelsmann is the first European group of media. The principal companies of the group are:

  • RTL Group, audio-visual
  • Random House, edition
  • Gruner & Jahr, press
  • Arvato, services company media (printing works, engraving CD and DVD, direct marketing, IT)
  • DirectGroup, product sales cultural
  • Nordcall, telephone platform in reception and emission of calls
  • France cultural Leisure, product sales, subscriptions books

The group is controlled by Liz Mohn, the president of the group, and his family who hold 17,3% of the capital on line whereas 57,6% are with the Bertelsmann foundation. The financier and Belgian billionaire Albert Frère will sell to them at the first July 2006 the 25,1% which he holds since 2001 per 4,5 billion euros.

At the time of the Bubble Internet in the years 1995-2000, the group, under the crook of Thomas Middelhoff, president of the directory, had multiplied the numerical initiatives and in particular creates a joint-venture European with the supplier of American access AOL.

Division music of Bertelsmann recorded a fall of 16% of its turnover in 2005, to 2,13 billion. This loss would come from the rise of the music downloading.

September 6th, 2006, Bertelsmann sells its participation of 50% in the musical editor Sony BMG like his subsidiary company to 100% BMG Music Publishing at Universal Music Group, subsidiary of Vivendi, for a full value of 2 billion euros.

See too

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