Even though the giant media conglomerate that owns Random House announced a 13% increase in profits in the 2005 fiscal year, the news wasn’t enough to decrease speculation about whether the company will find itself up to public scrutiny.
The issue involves Belgian investment firm Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL), which owns a 25 percent minority stake in Bertelsmann and wants to sell out. And even though Bertelsmann CEO Gunther Thielen tried to stave off journalistic inquiry, saying that “for us, it was clear that GBL one day would leave. That was clear from the beginning,” when the stake is reported to be up to 6 billion euros, that’s a whole lot of money to play with, especially if Bertelsmann ultimately decides that it’s better for them to buy GBL outright.
So what would it mean for Random House? At the moment, probably nothing, as Thielen insists that there are no plans to sell off the company or its magazine holdings. But more will be known by the end of May, when Bertelsmann decides what to do about GBL — and whether the company will go public even partially…