Former US President Barack Obama and the former first lady, Michelle Obama will pocket a reported $A78 million from a book deal inked with Penguin Random House.

Terms of the agreement, in which Penguin Random House acquired worldwide publication rights for the two books, have not been 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 $US60 million ($A78 million).

That’s 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 from which President Obama reportedly made $A13 million.

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

In a statement, the company said: “With their words and their leadership, they changed the world, and every day, with the books we publish at Penguin Random House, we strive to do the same.

“Now, we are very much looking forward to working together with President and Mrs Obama to make each of their books global publishing events of unprecedented scope and significance.”

According to the New York Times, former president Bill Clinton sold his memoir My Life for more than $US10 million ($A13 million), and Hillary Clinton reportedly received an $8 million ($A10.44 million) advance from Simon & Schuster for her memoir Living History.

George W. Bush’s memoir Decision Points, sold about two million copies and earning him an estimated $10 million ($A13 million).

– with AAP