Press Release

Press Release | Gütersloh, 11/26/2014

Bertelsmann Looks Forward to Visit by HM King Felipe VI of Spain

The international media company Bertelsmann looks forward to welcoming His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain to Gütersloh on 2 December 2014. The king is paying a visit to Bertelsmann and its owning family, the Mohns, during his first trip to Germany. Liz Mohn, family spokeswoman at the BVG, Bertelsmann Supervisory Board Chairman Christoph Mohn, and Bertelsmann’s Chairman & CEO Thomas Rabe will welcome HM Felipe de Borbón y Grecia at the company’s Corporate Center. A private lunch is subsequently scheduled, which will also be attended by the North Rhine-Westphalian state premier Hannelore Kraft and a delegation of German and Spanish entrepreneurs.

Liz Mohn, Christoph Mohn and Bertelsmann Chairman & CEO Thomas Rabe issued a statement on the occasion of the royal visit: “Bertelsmann feels extremely honored by the visit of His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain. Spain is one of our company’s most important markets, where we have been firmly rooted with our businesses for over 50 years. We deeply appreciate the fact that King Felipe VI is honoring our company on his first visit to Germany as Spain’s new head of state, thereby acknowledging the close ties between Bertelsmann and Spain.”

Spain was the first foreign market that Bertelsmann developed under the aegis of its post-war founder Reinhard Mohn. Today, all of the company’s divisions have operations on the Iberian peninsula: RTL Group with Atresmedia and Fremantle Media España, among other companies; Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial with a number of renowned publishers; Gruner + Jahr with its G+J España and Motor Press Ibérica subsidiaries; Arvato with service businesses; Be Printers with printing plants; and the music company BMG with a Spanish subsidiary. Spain is also a springboard for expanding Bertelsmann’s business activities in Latin America.

Bertelsmann generates revenues of around €700 million a year in Spain and employs about 8,000 people there. The company has a representative office in Madrid, the Espacio Bertelsmann, as a place of social, political, economic and cultural debate. Beyond these business and cultural activities, friendly relations have existed for many years between Bertelsmann’s owning family, the Mohns, and the Spanish royal family.

About Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann is an international media company whose core divisions encompass television (RTL Group), book publishing (Penguin Random House), magazine publishing (Gruner + Jahr), services (Arvato), and printing (Be Printers) in some 50 countries. In 2013, the company’s businesses, with their more than 111,000 employees, generated revenues of €16.4 billion. Bertelsmann stands for a combination of creativity and entrepreneurship that empowers the creation of first-rate media, communications, and service offerings to inspire people around the world and to provide innovative solutions for customers.