Penguin Random House lands book deal with Obamas

Penguin Random House has landed a deal to publish two forthcoming books by former US President Barack Obama and the former first lady, Michelle Obama, with one volume to be written by each, the publishing company said on Tuesday.

Terms of the agreement, in which Penguin Random House acquired worldwide publication rights for the two books, were not disclosed.

But in keeping with their past practice, the Obamas plan to donate a "significant portion of their author proceeds to charity," including the Obama Foundation, the publisher said in a statement announcing the deal.

The deal followed a heated auction for global rights to the two books with bidding that reached more than US$60 million, a record sum for US presidential memoirs, the Financial Times reported, citing people with knowledge of the sales process.

Penguin Random House published the former president's three previous books - "Dreams of My Father," "The Audacity of Hope," "Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters."

The company did not disclose the subject matter of the two forthcoming books, or a time frame for them to be published.