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Pearson PLC said Wednesday that Chief Executive John Fallon plans to retire next year, and that it has agreed to sell its remaining 25% stake in Penguin Random House to Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA for $675 million.
The London-based education publisher PSON, -1.50% said Fallon will retire in 2020 once a successor has been appointed. The company will consider both external and internal candidates as part of a succession process, it said.
Pearson said the sale of its remaining stake in Penguin Random House to its partner is in line with the company’s simplification strategy and follows the disposal of a 22% interest in the joint venture two years ago.
The deal, which remains subject to regulatory consent and is expected to close in the first half of 2020, gives Penguin Random House an enterprise value of $3.67 billion, Pearson said.
