Bertelsmann

What Bertelsmann does

Bertelsmann is a privately-held German multinational media, services, and education conglomerate headquartered in Gütersloh, founded in 1835 and operating across approximately 50 countries with 76,965 employees. The group is organized into seven major divisions: RTL Group (European entertainment spanning 52 TV channels, 6 streaming services, and 40 radio stations, including the RTL+ platform with 8 million-plus subscribers), Penguin Random House (the world's largest trade book publisher serving 350+ publishing imprints), BMG (music rights and recordings), Arvato Group (financial services, CRM, IT, and supply chain outsourcing), Bertelsmann Marketing Services, Bertelsmann Education Group (including Relias with 11,000+ healthcare customers), and Bertelsmann Investments (venture capital including Bertelsmann Next growth platforms and Futurepresent AI investments).

The business model combines content creation, aggregation, and distribution across consumer-facing verticals with diversified B2B services revenue. RTL Group monetizes through advertising sales, subscription streaming, and content licensing; Penguin Random House and BMG generate revenue via consumer book/music sales and rights licensing to artists and authors; Arvato operates long-tail outsourcing contracts with enterprise clients in financial services, healthcare, and logistics; Bertelsmann Education Group sells subscription compliance and professional learning; and Bertelsmann Investments returns venture capital gains. The group's investment in Bertelsmann Next is explicitly targeting 9-10 digit revenue digital platforms in adtech, fintech, and logistics.

FY2025 revenue was €19 billion, with 2026 guidance of €20 billion-plus following the Sky Deutschland acquisition (closed Q1 2026) and organic growth in streaming, healthcare education, and music. Ownership remains concentrated under the Mohn family sphere, with 80.9% held by foundations (including the Reinhard Mohn Foundation) and 19.1% by the Mohn family, providing long-term strategic continuity independent of public-market cycles.

Name

Bertelsmann

Legal name

Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA

Website

https://bertelsmann.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1835

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

10,001+ employees

Short description

Bertelsmann is a privately-held German multinational media, services, and education conglomerate operating seven major divisions — RTL Group, Penguin Random House, BMG, Arvato, Bertelsmann Marketing Services, Bertelsmann Education Group, and Bertelsmann Investments — across approximately 50 countries with €19 billion in FY2025 revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Media and Business Services Conglomerate

NAICS

Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131), Publishing Industries (513), Other Publishers (51319)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Business, Economics, Accounting & Management (EDAGABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Business, Economics & Management Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAF), Corporate Leadership & Management (EDAGANAA)

Keywords

• Media and entertainment
• Book publishing
• Music licensing
• Business process outsourcing
• Education technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Gütersloh

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Entertainment (RTL Group): Revenue from TV broadcasting, streaming services, radio operations, and content production through RTL Group which operates 52 TV channels, 6 streaming services, and 40 radio stations across Europe. Fremantle produces over 11,000 program hours annually.
2. Book Publishing (Penguin Random House): Revenue from publishing and selling books, e-books, and audiobooks through 350+ independent publishers on six continents, publishing approximately 14,500 new titles annually and selling over 750 million books per year
3. Music (BMG): Revenue from music publishing and recordings including copyright administration, synchronization licensing, royalty accounting, and music catalog management representing over 3 million songs and recordings
4. Services (Arvato Group): Revenue from supply chain solutions, financial services (Riverty), IT services (Arvato Systems), and business processing services (Arvato Connect) for corporate clients across various industries in 30+ countries
5. Marketing Services: Revenue from digital marketing, offset printing, book printing, storage media production, and printing/packaging services across Germany, USA, and Asia
6. Education (Bertelsmann Education Group): Revenue from medical education (Afya operating 32 medical schools in Brazil), online training (Relias with 4.5M users), and university education (Alliant International University)
7. Investments (Bertelsmann Investments): Revenue from venture capital investments through funds including Bertelsmann Asia Investments (200+ portfolios), Bertelsmann India Investments, Futurepresent, and Bertelsmann Healthcare Investments, plus incubation and growth initiatives (Applike, EMBRACE, cormeo, LetsTransport)

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Bertelsmann is a privately-held global media, services, and education conglomerate operating seven core divisions: RTL Group (TV, streaming and radio), Penguin Random House (book publishing), BMG (music publishing and recordings), Arvato Group (supply chain, financial services, and IT services), Bertelsmann Marketing Services (digital marketing and printing), Bertelsmann Education Group (healthcare and professional training), and Bertelsmann Investments (venture capital). The company produces and distributes content, books, music, and business services across roughly 50 countries.

Product overview

Bertelsmann is a media, services, and education company operating as a multi-division conglomerate rather than a single unified product. The company is organized into seven major divisions: RTL Group (entertainment with TV channels, streaming platforms RTL+ and M6+, and radio), Penguin Random House (book publishing with 350+ publishers globally), BMG (music publishing and recordings with SYNC+ platform), Arvato Group (business process services including supply chain, financial services under Riverty brand, IT services under Arvato Systems brand, and business processing under Arvato Connect brand), Bertelsmann Marketing Services (digital marketing agencies Territory and Campaign, DeutschlandCard loyalty program, and printing operations), Bertelsmann Education Group (healthcare and education products including Afya medical education, Relias training platform, and Alliant University), and Bertelsmann Investments (venture capital funds BAI, BII, Futurepresent, BHI, and growth unit Bertelsmann Next). The divisions operate largely independently, offering distinct products and services rather than an integrated platform architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Bertelsmann Asia Investments (BAI): Leading venture capital fund in China, part of Bertelsmann Investments, invested in 200+ portfolios including 18+ IPOs and 40+ unicorns
• Bertelsmann India Investments (BII)
• Futurepresent
• Bertelsmann Healthcare Investments (BHI)
• Bertelsmann Next
• Riverty
• Arvato Systems
• Arvato Connect
• Afya
• Relias
• Alliant International University
• Fremantle
• Bedrock
• SYNC+
• Territory
• Campaign
• DeutschlandCard
• Sonopress
• Topac
• Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial
• UFA
• Das Blaue Sofa
• Archivio Storico Ricordi

Products and services

• RTL Group Leading European entertainment company operating television channels, streaming services (RTL+, M6+), radio stations, and content production through Fremantle across multiple European markets.
• Penguin Random House World's largest consumer trade book publishing group publishing fiction, non-fiction, and children's books across 350+ imprints on six continents, releasing roughly 14,500 new titles and selling 750M+ books annually.
• BMG (Bertelsmann Music Group) Fourth-largest global music company managing music publishing, recordings, sync licensing, and royalty administration for artists and songwriters across 16 offices in 13 markets.
• Arvato Group International business services group providing supply chain management, financial services (Riverty), IT services (Arvato Systems), and customer management services (Arvato Connect) for enterprise clients in more than 30 countries.
• Riverty Financial services arm of Arvato Group providing consumer-friendly payment solutions and business financial flow monitoring products across multiple European markets.
• Arvato Systems IT services arm of Arvato Group delivering consulting, standard software implementation, and customized industry-specific IT outsourcing solutions to enterprise customers.
• Arvato Connect Business processing services arm of Arvato Group providing technology-led customer engagement and customer experience solutions for organizations.
• Bertelsmann Marketing Services Cross-channel marketing services provider bundling Bertelsmann's digital marketing (Territory, Campaign), loyalty programs (DeutschlandCard), offset printing (Mohn Media, GGP Media, Vogel Druck), and storage media production (Sonopress).
• Bertelsmann Education Group Education division encompassing medical education (Afya in Brazil operating 32 medical schools), healthcare workforce training (Relias with 4.5M users and 11,000+ customers in the US), and university education (Alliant International University).
• Bertelsmann Investments Global investment platform bundling Bertelsmann's venture capital funds (BAI in China, BII in India, Futurepresent in AI, BHI in healthcare) and growth unit Bertelsmann Next, investing in mobile ad tech, HR tech, pharma tech, and Indian startups.

Quantifiable outcome

• €19 billion in annual revenues
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Sky Deutschland (acquisition by RTL Group)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026RTL Group (majority-owned by Bertelsmann) received antitrust approval in Q1 2026 for the acquisition of Sky Deutschland, a strategic move to strengthen Bertelsmann's entertainment portfolio in German-speaking markets.
• Concord (BMG combination)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Planned combination of BMG and Concord to create a strengthened music company, representing a major strategic merger in the recorded music and music publishing sectors.
• Founders FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBertelsmann Stiftung supports the Founders Foundation, which initiated the technology conference 'Hinterland of Things' where CEO Thomas Rabe spoke as a guest speaker.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ITV plc: UK commercial broadcaster with ITV Hub/ITVX streaming. Comparable to RTL Group's European broadcaster portfolio with similar linear-to-streaming transition dynamics and content production (Fremantle competes with ITV Studios).
• Vivendi: European media conglomerate that owned Universal Music Group (spin-off in 2021), editis publishing, and Canal+/Dailymotion. Closest direct European peer to Bertelsmann's multi-division media structure and ownership/governance model.
• Pearson plc: World's largest education publisher, focused on higher education textbooks and assessments. Direct comparable to Bertelsmann Education Group and the academic/textbook publishing arm of Penguin Random House.
• Hachette Livre (Lagardère): One of the world's largest trade book publishers, part of Lagardère. Directly comparable to Penguin Random House in mass-market trade publishing, e-books, and audiobooks.
• Axel Springer: German-based media company with digital classifieds (Stepstone, AVIV), news media (Bild, Politico, Business Insider), and entertainment. Bertelsmann is a co-shareholder in some Springer assets; direct comparable in European media and digital transformation.
• ProSiebenSat.1 Media: German broadcaster and streaming operator (Joyn, SAT.1, ProSieben). Direct competitor to RTL Deutschland in German TV advertising and streaming, with comparable challenges in transitioning to streaming-led business.

Broad incumbents

• Universal Music Group: World's largest music company, owned by Vivendi. Direct competitor to BMG in music publishing and recorded music, and the largest counterweight in BMG's planned Concord combination.
• News Corp: Diversified media conglomerate with HarperCollins publishing, Dow Jones/news, and Foxtel broadcasting. Most direct comparable to Bertelsmann in combining major publishing (like Penguin Random House) with traditional broadcast media under one roof.
• Sony Group Corporation: Operates Sony Music (label competitor to BMG), Sony Pictures, and growing streaming/gaming businesses. Direct peer through music publishing/recorded music (BMG vs Sony Music) and content production (Fremantle vs Sony Pictures).
• Warner Bros. Discovery: Global media and entertainment conglomerate combining HBO/Max streaming, Warner Bros. studios, and linear TV networks. Comparable to RTL Group scale in broadcast and content production (Fremantle), and directly competitive in streaming.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Bertelsmann
• Xx.com/bertelsmanncyoc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bertelsmann

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bertelsmann