Canada is the most recent country to approve the Random House, Penguin merger without asking for any changes to the deal. Friday, the Canadian Competition Bureau and the Department of Canadian Heritage cleared the merger without conditions. There was some thinking in publishing circles that given Canada’s protection of cultural industries, including publishing, that the government would ask for some change that would give a Canadian company some role in the merged publisher, but that was not the case.
The merger of Random House and Penguin is still expected to be completed by the end of the year.
