Penguin Random House is acquiring Little Tiger Group, a publisher of children's books based in London. Monty Bhatia, CEO and co-founder of LIttle Tiger, will continue to run the company, reporting to Barbara Marcus, president and publisher of Random House Children’s Books. Little Tiger publishers Jude Evans and Thomas Truong will also stay with the company, which will continue to operate as a standalone, independent company as part of PRH, although it will take advantage of certain services from PRH US such as distribution and fulfillment.

Little Tiger Group was founded in 1987 and publishes 200 new titles annually; its backlist extends to nearly 1,000 titles. The group encompasses numerous imprints, including LIttle Tiger Press, which is known for bestselling picture and board books, such as I Love You to the Moon and Back and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, both of which have sold more than one million copies. Other imprints include Stripes Publishing (which does commercial fiction and illustrated chapter books); Caterpillar Books and Little Tiger Kids, which both publish novelty books; and 360 Degrees, which focuses on nonfiction. The company also has a U.S. subsidiary, Tiger Tales Press, based in Connecticut.

In addition, PRH has announced the acquisition of Liontree Publishing, an affiliated U.K.-based book packager, which will be subsumed under Little Tiger Group.

“We are thrilled to welcome Monty Bhatia and the team at Little Tiger Group, a true leader in children’s publishing, especially in the preschool area, to the Penguin Random House global family," said Markus Dohle, global CEO, Penguin Random House, in a press release.

Bhatia said, “We have been a family company for over 30 years, but it has been a vision of mine from our earliest founding days that we would take every opportunity to grow and prosper. Being brought into the Penguin Random House fold will enable the Little Tiger Group to elevate our business to the next level, both in the U.S. and internationally.

The acquisition will be finalized April 1; no purchase price was disclosed.