Random House CEO quits after failed merger

Markus Dohle stepped down from his role as chief executive of Penguin Random House, the publisher’s parent company, Bertelsmann, announced on Friday, just weeks after an enormously expensive acquisition deal fell apart.

As the head of the country’s largest publisher, Dohle oversaw the attempted purchase of Simon & Schuster for $2.175 billion, a deal the Justice Department sued to stop on antitrust grounds. The government won the case at the end of October, a ruling that cost Penguin Random House and Bertelsmann more than $200 million.

Bertelsmann said in a statement that Dohle was stepping down “at his own request and on the best ... terms.”

“Following the ... decision in the U.S. against the merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster, I have decided, after nearly 15 years on the executive board of Bertelsmann and at the helm of our global publishing business, to hand over the next chapter of Penguin Random House to new leadership,” Dohle said in a statement. “Penguin Random House has a great future ahead, and I ... look forward to continuing to serve Bertelsmann in an advisory capacity.”

Bertelsmann said that Nihar Malaviya, the chief operating officer of the publisher’s U.S. division, will become interim chief executive in January.