Bertelsmann
The Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA, commonly known as Bertelsmann (German pronunciation: [ˈbɛʁtl̩sˌman] ⓘ), is a German private multinational conglomerate corporation based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of the world's largest media conglomerates and is also active in the service sector and education.[4][5]
Company type
1 July 1835[1]
- Thomas Rabe[2]
(Chairman and Chief Executive Officer) - Christoph Mohn[3]
(Chairman of the Supervisory Board) - Elisabeth Mohn
(Vice-chair of the board)
€20.245 billion (2022)
€1.052 billion (2022)
€32.818 billion (2022)
€15.036 billion (2022)
164,691 (2022)
- RTL Group (75.1%)
- Penguin Random House
- BMG
- Arvato
- B. Printing Group
- B. Education Group
- B. Investments
Bertelsmann was founded as a publishing house by Carl Bertelsmann in 1835.[6] After World War II, Bertelsmann, under the leadership of Reinhard Mohn, went from being a medium-sized enterprise to a major conglomerate, offering not only books but also television, radio, music, magazines and services.[7] Its principal divisions include the RTL Group, Penguin Random House, BMG, Arvato, the Bertelsmann Printing Group, the Bertelsmann Education Group and Bertelsmann Investments.[8]
Bertelsmann is an unlisted and capital market-oriented company,[9] which remains primarily controlled by the Mohn family.[10][11]
Ownership[edit]
From 1971 to 2012, Bertelsmann was a joint stock company under German law (Aktiengesellschaft).[248] Subsequently, the company was transformed into a partnership limited by shares (Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien). The general partner is a European stock corporation (Societas Europaea).[249] Bertelsmann's rationale for this move, among others, was the aim of opening up for investors,[250] thus enabling them to participate in the financing of additional growth.[251] The media commented the change of the legal structure "the turn of an era",[252] as it essentially also enables the company to go public.[253][254] This move was not ultimately implemented, however.[255][256] Today, Bertelsmann is a company active in capital markets, issuing bonds, for example.[257][258] Since 2001, the company has prepared its financial statements according to International Financial Reporting Standards.[259]
The new legal entity does not change any of the ownership of Bertelsmann.[260] As early as the 1970s and 1980s, the Mohn family built up the Bertelsmann Stiftung,[261] which has owned the majority of shares in Bertelsmann since 1993.[262] In addition to social responsibility, tax considerations played a role in this.[263][264] Moreover, this strategy was intended to preserve the continuity of the company.[265] Today, according to Bertelsmann, the Mohn family holds 19.1% of the shares. The three foundations, Bertelsmann Stiftung, Reinhard Mohn Stiftung and BVG Stiftung, together own 80.9%.[266] The Bertelsmann Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH (BVG) has key influence on the whole group: It bundles all the voting rights of the Mohn family and foundations with ownership shares. Together, they own 100 percent in the general assemblies of the group company (Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA) and its general partner (Bertelsmann Management SE).
Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA is managed by the Bertelsmann Management SE. The chairman of the executive board of Bertelsmann Management SE is Thomas Rabe.[267][268] Other members of the executive board include Markus Dohle, Immanuel Hermreck, Bernd Hirsch and Anke Schäferkordt.[269] In 2012, Bertelsmann created the additional so-called Group Management Committee, in order to advise the executive board in important matters.[270] Some members of the media noted that a relatively large number of women have been appointed to the Group Management Committee.[271][272] Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and Bertelsmann Management SE each have a supervisory board that oversees the management. In 2013, Christoph Mohn assumed the chairmanship of both bodies.[273] From the family, Liz Mohn and Brigitte Mohn are also members of the supervisory boards of both companies.[274]
Locations[edit]
Since the 1970s, the Bertelsmann headquarters have been in the Gütersloh district of Avenwedde, and its layout encompasses some 26,100 square meters. The office buildings were erected in 1976 and expanded in 1990.[275] In addition to the typical facilities, the headquarters in Gütersloh also feature the Bertelsmann University, an academic institution for Bertelsmann executives.[276] In 1992, Bertelsmann purchased the Bertelsmann Building in New York City and located its North American headquarters there.[277] The building was re-sold in 2004.[278] The Berlin representative office was opened in 2003 in the Kommandantenhaus in the historic center of Berlin.[279] As part of international activities, Bertelsmann established additional locations at the corporate level (Corporate Centers) in Beijing (2006), New Delhi (2012) and São Paulo (2012).[280]
Worldwide, with all divisions, Bertelsmann has almost 350 locations.[281] The majority are in Europe, where the group earns the largest share of its revenues.[282] Over the past years, the group has increasingly focused on the newly industrialized nations of Brazil, China and India.[283] In Brazil, efforts have been aimed at expanding activities above all in the field of education.[284][285] Bertelsmann has already been involved in China since 1992,[286] and today all divisions are represented there.[287] In India, Bertelsmann is focused on growth in the e-commerce sector, among others.[288][289]
Criticism[edit]
In the 1990s, critical questions arose as to the role of Bertelsmann in Nazi Germany.[290] They were precipitated by a speech given by the chairman and chief executive officer, Thomas Middelhoff, on the occasion of his receiving the Vernon A. Walters Award 1998 in New York City.[291] Thomas Middelhoff portrayed Bertelsmann as one of the few non-Jewish media companies shut down by the National Socialists because it allegedly published subversive literature.[292] This interpretation was severely criticized, for example, by publicist Hersch Fischler.[293] The speech led to a broad public debate and ultimately in 1998 to the establishment of an independent historical commission (IHC) by the group.[294] This was headed by Saul Friedländer, and additional members were Norbert Frei, Trutz Rendtorff and Reinhard Wittmann. The IHC presented an interim report in the year 2000 and issued a final report in 2002.[295] It stated, for example, that the suggestion that the C. Bertelsmann Verlag mounted resistance against National Socialism was clearly not accurate.[296] The company's "shut-down as a publisher of the resistance" could not be proven.[297] Historian Volker Ullrich said in the weekly Die Zeit that the notion of the company's being "a resistance publisher" was clearly baseless.[298] The files of the IHC have been publicly available in the company archives of Bertelsmann in Gütersloh since 2003.[299] In October 2002 the Bertelsmann conglomerate publicly expressed regret for its "conduct under the Nazis, and for later efforts to cover it up".[300]