Under the deal, WPG Uitgevers (a Dutch concern led by Fleming Koen Clement) will take over Bruna and Standaard Uitgeverij. Bruna publishes popular fiction, celebrity biographies and self-help books and has a large share of the Dutch book market, while Standaard is a fixture at the top of the Flemish bestsellers lists, with names such as Marc De Bel, Tom Lanoye and Herman Brusselmans, as well as classic strips from Willy Vandersteen to Urbanus.

The long-established Uitgeverij Lannoo, meanwhile, with offices in Tielt, Leuven and Brussels, will take over Meulenhoff and Unieboek/Het Spectrum from the PCM stable. Lannoo is specialised in nonfiction and photo books, with authors like Carl De Keyser and Stephan Vanfleteren. Unieboek is also a non-fiction publisher with titles on lifestyle, food and health. Het Spectrum publishes the highly successful Prisma range of dictionaries. Meulenhoff, finally, publishes novels, poetry, essays and non-fiction and already has close ties with the Antwerp-based publishing house Manteau, publishers of Pieter Aspe and Mark Tijsmans.

“All of the imprints concerned will carry on operating independently,” promised Lannoo managing director Matthias Lannoo. “We are not planning to make cuts, to hive off any activities or to seek any mergers.”