A major publishing merger is in the works.

British media  conglomerate Pearson says it is in talks aimed at combining  its Penguin publishing house with Random House, owned by Bertelsmann of Germany.

The mega-deal  would bring together two of the world’s heavyweight  book publishersI, uniting Penguin with the owner of Crown Publishing and Knopf Doubleday.

If the merger goes through it  would create a unit  that could compete in the rapidly evolving e-book market.

Traditional publishing houses have increasingly come under pressure, especially in the e-book category, from online retailers.