45 Facts About Bertelsmann AG

1.

Bertelsmann AG is a German private multinational conglomerate corporation based in Gutersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

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2.

Bertelsmann AG was founded as a publishing house by Carl Bertelsmann AG in 1835.

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3.

Bertelsmann AG is an unlisted and capital market-oriented company, which remains primarily controlled by the Mohn family.

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4.

Carl Bertelsmann AG was a representative of the "Minden-Ravensberger Erweckungsbewegung", a Protestant revival movement, whose writings he published.

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5.

In 1959, the C Bertelsmann Verlag was restructured: From that point on, theological literature was published in the Gutersloher Verlagshaus, a new publishing house which was consolidated with the Rufer Verlag.

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6.

The C Bertelsmann Verlag focused on nonfiction books, in particular dictionaries, guidebooks, reference books and journals.

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7.

In 1964, Bertelsmann AG purchased the already broken-up UFA from the Deutsche Bank and built on its presence in cinema and television.

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8.

In 1969, Bertelsmann AG acquired shares in the magazine publisher Gruner + Jahr.

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9.

Bertelsmann AG encountered new regulatory rules in its home market, in particular through laws governing mergers.

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10.

Under the leadership of Mark Wossner, Bertelsmann AG took a stake in RTL plus, the first private TV broadcaster in Germany.

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11.

In 1986, Bertelsmann AG acquired a majority in RCA Records and merged its activities in the music market with the new Bertelsmann AG Music Group.

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12.

In 1994, Gruner + Jahr acquired the magazines of The New York Times, whereby Bertelsmann AG was able to expand its presence in foreign markets.

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13.

In March 1998, Bertelsmann AG sold its video game publisher, BMG Interactive, to Take-Two Interactive in exchange for 16 percent of Take Two's stock.

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14.

In 1999, Bertelsmann AG acquired the publisher Springer Science+Business Media, which, among other things, was the market leader for mathematics and physics.

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15.

Bertelsmann AG initially owned a minority in the company, and gradually built up its share.

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16.

Later, Bertelsmann AG secured the majority of the shares in RTL through a share swap with the Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, which as a result owned 25.

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17.

Under the leadership of Thomas Middelhoff, Bertelsmann AG increased its involvement in the Internet, whereby above all the investment in Napster received major media attention.

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18.

Bertelsmann AG faced several claims for damages by the music industry.

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19.

Bertelsmann AG sold its shares of the record label Sony BMG, and since then the company has operated under the name of Sony Music Entertainment.

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20.

In 2008, Bertelsmann AG acquired the rights to the Brockhaus Encyclopedia, and from that time on, this reference work was published by the Wissen Media Verlag.

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21.

In 2012, Bertelsmann AG went from being an AG to its current incorporation as a partnership limited by shares, with the general partner being a European stock corporation .

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22.

In 2013, Bertelsmann AG floated part of its shares in the RTL Group on the stock exchange, in order to finance additional growth from the proceeds of the sale.

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23.

Furthermore, under the leadership of Thomas Rabe, Bertelsmann AG increasingly invested in the education sector: In 2014, for example, Relias Learning was acquired.

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24.

Bertelsmann AG belongs to the Bertelsmann Education Group, established in 2015.

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25.

The Club Bertelsmann AG was wound up, and individual distribution partners are taking legal action against it.

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26.

In 2017, Bertelsmann AG undertook moves to further strengthen its core business, among other things increasing its share in Penguin Random House from 53 to 75 percent.

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27.

Bertelsmann AG weighed its strategic options for the Customer Relationship Management business, and in 2018 established a CRM company in cooperation with the Saham Group: The new company, Majorel, enjoys a leading market position in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

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28.

Bertelsmann AG has promoted stronger cooperation among its corporate divisions and has opened up towards collaboration with other media houses.

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29.

In 2019, Bertelsmann AG boosted cooperation in the German content market by establishing the Content Alliance, headed up by Julia Jakel.

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30.

In December 2020, Bertelsmann AG entered talks to sell the French magazine publisher Prisma Media, a division of Gruner + Jahr, to Vivendi.

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31.

In January 2021, Bertelsmann AG began to explore selling its controlling stake in the French television channel M6.

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32.

In January 1997, Bertelsmann AG merged the UFA film and television company with Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Telediffusion .

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33.

Bertelsmann AG is listed on the stock exchange and has been majority-owned by Bertelsmann since 2001.

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34.

Bertelsmann AG was created in 2013 through the merger of the publishing businesses of Bertelsmann and Pearson.

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35.

At that time, the print and industry sectors at Bertelsmann AG were restructured, whereby services received a higher priority than the print and machinery sector back then.

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36.

Since the 1950s, Bertelsmann AG has been an active service provider, delivering books for other publishing companies, for example.

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37.

In January 2016, Bertelsmann AG bundled its printing activities in digital, offset and gravure in the Bertelsmann AG Printing Group.

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38.

Bertelsmann AG Printing Group includes not only GGP Media, Mohn Media, Prinovis, Sonopress, Vogel Druck and several other companies, but Be Printers.

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39.

Bertelsmann AG Investments holds equity positions in a total of over 100 startup companies, almost all from the digital economy.

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40.

From 1971 to 2012, Bertelsmann AG was a joint stock company under German law .

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41.

Today, Bertelsmann AG is a company active in capital markets, issuing bonds, for example.

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42.

In 2012, Bertelsmann AG created the additional so-called Group Management Committee, in order to advise the executive board in important matters.

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43.

In 1992, Bertelsmann AG purchased the Bertelsmann AG Building in New York City and located its North American headquarters there.

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44.

Bertelsmann AG has already been involved in China since 1992, and today all divisions are represented there.

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45.

In India, Bertelsmann AG is focused on growth in the e-commerce sector, among others.

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