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Bonn (pte048/31.03.2003/16:53) - The takeover of publishing house Ullstein Heyne by Bertelsmann subsidiary Random House has provoked a sceptical reaction on the part of federal anti-trust authorities in Germany. As reported by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung http://www.faz.net , which bases its information on papers released by the authorities, the anti-trust office suspects the merger may give Random House a too dominant position on the market for paperback books.
Although Random House claims the takeover only gives it a 30 per cent stake in the market, the authorities seem to believe the concentration is much higher.
The planned purchase of Ullstein Heyne List from the Axel Springer publishing house was announced last February. At the time, Random House was confident the authorities would approve the deal. The Holtzbrinck publishing group has however accused Random House of acquiring up to 40 per cent of the market through the merger, and the authorities are now closely examining the case.
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