Huge German Publisher to Buy Doubleday but Sale Doesn’t Include the Mets

The giant West German publisher Bertelsmann AG announced today that it is buying Doubleday & Co., one of the largest U.S. book publishers.

The deal does not include the New York Mets baseball team, which is 95% owned by Doubleday. Nelson Doubleday Jr. and some partners reportedly plan to buy the team.

Terms of the Bertelsmann purchase, which had been rumored, were not disclosed in the announcement today in Guetersloh, West Germany. Bertelsmann sources said, however, that the company is paying between $400 million and $500 million for Doubleday.

The transaction requires approval from Bertelsmann’s directors, Doubleday shareholders and the U.S. Justice Department.

Doubleday said he and Fred Wilpon, president of the Mets, will retain control of the Mets by purchasing the National League team from Doubleday & Co., according to a report published today.

The New York Times quoted Doubleday, chairman of the board of the club, as saying he and Wilpon will be joined by outside limited partners in purchasing the team.

Worth $100 Million

The Mets, champions of the league’s eastern division, are believed to be worth close to $100 million. Doubleday & Co. bought the team in 1980 for $21.1 million.

The acquisition makes Bertelsmann, a privately owned company, the second-largest book seller in the United States, surpassed only by Simon & Schuster Inc., analysts said.

Bertelsmann owns the Bantam books paperback publishing company and several other large U.S. interests. It recently acquired RCA Corp.’s record business in a bid to become a major participant in the U.S. records and music video market.

The purchase will raise Bertelsmann’s U.S. revenue from $750 million to about $1.25 billion, a company spokesman said.

Paperback Division

Bertelsmann said it would buy Doubleday’s hard-cover book publishing operations, its Dell-Delacorte paperback and hard-cover division and a book club division that includes several specialized and general book club units.

Also included in the sale were Doubleday’s printing facilities, as well as schoolbooks and retail operations.

Doubleday told the Times that he and Wilpon will continue in their present positions and will retain Frank Cashen as director of baseball operations, a position he has held for six years.

“There will be no revolutionary change in the control of the Mets,” Doubleday said.