BERLIN—Penguin Random House pulled off what may be the publishing industry’s biggest deal of 2017 when it won an auction in February for the rights to books by former U.S. President Barack Obama and ex-First Lady Michelle Obama.

Bertelsmann SE, the German publisher that controls Penguin Random House sealed the deal as it pushes aggressively to boost growth in the U.S. It has picked up other U.S. assets in a deal-making binge in recent years and aims to boost revenue in the country to 30% of overall sales by 2020, Chief Executive...