Bertelsmann CEO sees higher-than-planned investments of up to 8 bln euros

Bertelsmann SE & Co KGaA

04/09/2024 15:45

By Klaus Lauer
       BERLIN, Sept 4 (Reuters) - German media, services and
education firm Bertelsmann plans  to invest more than 8 billion
euros ($8.86 billion) as part of its growth strategy in the five
years to 2026, more than previously envisaged, its CEO told
Reuters on Wednesday.
    The privately owned media group is in the middle of a scheme
to boost growth through investments of 5-7 billion euros between
2021 and 2026.    
    "I expect the programme to run to more than 8 billion
euros," CEO Thomas Rabe told Reuters, adding that so far, it has
invested 4.8 billion euros. 
    "I do not want to have a limit," he said.
    Rabe said there was a wide range of attractive projects to
invest in across the group, whose brands include music business
BMG and book publisher Penguin Random House and TV subsidiary
RTL  AUDK.LU .
    "We have projects in the pipeline across the board," he
said, in the education, digital health and its BI investment
arm.
    Regionally, the company was looking especially at India,
Mexico and Brazil as well as the United States, its largest
sales contributor in the first half of this year. 
    Rabe said he expected the strong developments in the U.S. to
continue. 


($1 = 0.9025 euros)

 (Reporting by Klaus Lauer
Writing by Madeline Chambers
Editing by Miranda Murray)
 ((Madeline.Chambers@thomsonreuters.com; +4930220133578;))