This is taken from The Guardian:

BBC Books sold to Random House
by Julia Day
Thursday June 22, 2006

BBC Books, which publishes spinoff titles from TV shows including Delia Smith's How to Cook, has been acquired by German media giant Bertelsmann's Random House.

Random House, the publisher of The Da Vinci Code, has taken a majority stake in BBC Books, which it will merge into its Ebury Publishing division, which has had success in adult non-fiction with the River Café Cookbooks and Robbie Williams' Feel.

However, BBC Worldwide - the commercial arm of the corporation - will maintain a shareholding in BBC Books, whose recent bestsellers include David Attenborough's Life in the Undergrowth, Delia Smith's How to Cook series and Alan Titchmarsh's The Gardener's Year.

BBC Books will continue to license relevant book publishing rights in BBC programmes and will work within the corporation's editorial and commercial policy guidelines ensuring that appropriate controls are maintained over the BBC brand.

John Smith, the chief executive of BBC Worldwide, said: "We have for some time stated our intention of seeking a partner for our books business and are delighted to have reached this agreement with a publisher of the calibre of Random House.

"The union will bring additional scope and scale to BBC Books and enable the imprint to build further on this year's financial success and continue to grow its enviable list. We look forward to working with our new colleagues."