They are less and less. Large groups absorb independent publishers. Penguin Random House, one of the giants in the sector, bought Roca Editorial yesterday, a medium-sized company founded in 2003 and led by Blanca Rosa Roca, which has authors such as Elia Barceló, Nicholas Sparks or John Verdon.
"The sale to Penguin Random House was the natural path for Roca Editorial, because they were already our distributors," explains Blanca Rosa Roca in a conversation with La Vanguardia. "My idea was to hold out for a few more years, but when I received a good offer I realized that the time had come," adds the editor.
What Roca had no doubt about is that Penguin Random House was the ideal buyer "because in all these years the collaboration has been great and the relationship is very good." The synergies between both companies started in 2007 with an agreement for the publication of pocket books. Since 2009, Penguin Random House also distributes the paper copies of Roca Editorial in Spain and Latin America.
In addition, the sale includes an agreement for the Roca Editorial team, made up of about twenty people, to join the Penguin Random House staff.
From Penguin Random House, Núria Cabutí thanked "Roca, an admirable editor who has done a commendable job, for leaving us in the care of Roca Editorial", according to the company in a press release. Recent acquisitions by Penguin Random House include Santillana Ediciones Generales in 2014, Ediciones B in 2017, Ediciones Salamandra and La Campana in 2019, as well as the Molino, Serres and La Magrana labels of the RBA group.
