DK (publisher)

Dorling Kindersley Limited (branded as DK) is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages.[2] It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including DK Eyewitness Travel), history, geography, science, space, nature, sports, gardening, cookery, parenting and many others. The worldwide CEO of DK is Paul Kelly. DK has offices in New York, Melbourne, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto, Madrid, Beijing, and Jiangmen. DK works with licensing partners such as Disney, LEGO, DC Comics, the Royal Horticultural Society, MasterChef, and the Smithsonian Institution. DK has commissioned authors such as Mary Berry, Monty Don, Robert Winston, Huw Richards, and Steve Mould for a range of books.
== History[edit] ==
link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DK_logo_2014.svg|thumb|150x150px|DK logo, 2014–2020
DK was founded in 1974 by Christopher Dorling and Peter Kindersley in London as a book packager. Its first book as a publisher in the UK was First Aid Manual for the British voluntary medical services.[3] In 1988, DK Inc. published the first Eyewitness book. DK Inc. began publishing in the United States in 1991. That same year, Microsoft bought a 26 percent stake in DK.[4] In 1996, DK hired Neal Porter, Richard Jackson and Melanie Kroupa from Orchard Books to start the DK Ink imprint, but Grolier sued the trio.[5] DK and Grolier settled the lawsuit.[6]
In 1999, DK overestimated the market for Star Wars books and was left with millions of unsold copies, resulting in crippling debt.[7] As a direct result, DK was taken over the following year by the Pearson plc media company and made part of Penguin Group, which also owned the Penguin Books label.[8] DK has continued to sell Star Wars books after the takeover.[9]
In 2013, Bertelsmann and Pearson completed a merger to form Penguin Random House.[10] Bertelsmann owned 53% and Pearson 47% of the company. Penguin's trade publishing activity continued to include DK under the newly formed Penguin Random House.[11] In July 2017, Pearson agreed to sell a 22% stake in the business to Bertelsmann, thereby retaining a 25% holding.[12][13] In December 2019, Bertelsmann agreed to acquire Pearson's 25% in Penguin Random House, and therefore DK, making it a wholly owned subsidiary of Bertelsmann.[14] In 2019, Prima Games was sold to Asteri Holdings.[15]
Category:Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom
Category:United Kingdom