Author Solutions, based in Bloomington, Ind., had revenues of $100 million in 2011 and has published 190,000 books by 150,000 authors since its founding in 2007. It “will be integrated into Penguin’s back office and technology infrastructure but will continue to be run as a separate business.”

Penguin already offers some self-publishing services through Book Country, its community writing platform, but the acquisition of Author Solutions reflects a new focus on the area. “This acquisition will allow Penguin to participate fully in perhaps the fastest growing area of the publishing economy and gain skills in customer acquisition and data analytics that will be vital to our future,” said Penguin CEO John Makinson in a statement.

Author Solutions CEO Kevin Weiss said, “We are thrilled to be a part of its vibrant culture, and look forward to accelerating the pace  of change the industry is experiencing. As part of Penguin, we will be on the front-end of that change and have the broadest set of offerings of any publisher today. That means more opportunity for authors and more choice for readers.”