Home 5 Articles and Reports 5 Simon & Schuster merger blocked by US court

Simon & Schuster merger blocked by US court

 

 Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster’s merger deal worth $2.2 billion (£1.9 billion) has been blocked by a US court.

 In a brief order, US District Judge Florence Pan said the deal could “substantially” lessen competition in the publishing industry. The US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit to stop the deal last November.

 In 2013, Penguin Random House was formed by merging two major publishers from the US and the UK.

 “The court finds that the United States has shown that the effect of the proposed merger may be substantially to lessen competition in the market for US publishing rights to anticipated top-selling books,” Judge Pan said in her two-page order.

 Penguin said in a statement that it would appeal against the decision, calling it “an unfortunate setback for readers and authors”.

 In response, the Biden administration is stepping up its regulation of anti-competitive practices.

 Random House’s German parent company, Bertelsmann, initially owned 53% of Penguin Random House, while 47% was held by Penguin’s owner Pearson.

 Bertelsmann became the sole owner of Penguin Random House in April 2020.

 

Source: BBC

 

Recent News

17Jul
Penguin Supports Winn Amid Controversy

Penguin Supports Winn Amid Controversy

Penguin said release date of On Winter Hill would be changed in order to ‘support the author’ after allegations that Raynor Winn lied in her bestselling memoir. Author Raynor Winn’s new book has been delayed because questions about her bestselling work The Salt Path have caused her and her husband “considerable distress”, her publisher has […]

17Jul
Farshore  Revives ‘Portly the Otter’

Farshore Revives ‘Portly the Otter’

HarperCollins’ children’s imprint Farshore has acquired The Adventures of Portly the Otter: Untold Tales from the Wind in the Willows by award-winning children’s author M. G. Leonard. The book of exciting spin-off stories from the much-loved classic The Wind in the Willows, written by Kenneth Grahame and illustrated by E.H. Shepard, will publish in March […]

16Jul
Firefinch to Debut in 2026 with Star Authors

Firefinch to Debut in 2026 with Star Authors

Publishing veteran Kate Parkin, who worked for Random House and was most recently MD of the adult publishing division at Bonnier Books UK, is launching a new independent publishing house, Firefinch.  It is a co-venture with her Bonnier colleague Margaret Stead who was Bonnier publisher. Among the authors who are making the jump with them […]

Related Posts

Farshore  Revives ‘Portly the Otter’

Farshore Revives ‘Portly the Otter’

HarperCollins’ children’s imprint Farshore has acquired The Adventures of Portly the Otter: Untold Tales from the Wind in the Willows by award-winning children’s author M. G. Leonard. The book of exciting spin-off stories from the much-loved classic The Wind in the...

Firefinch to Debut in 2026 with Star Authors

Firefinch to Debut in 2026 with Star Authors

Publishing veteran Kate Parkin, who worked for Random House and was most recently MD of the adult publishing division at Bonnier Books UK, is launching a new independent publishing house, Firefinch.  It is a co-venture with her Bonnier colleague Margaret Stead who was...

Al Faya: Where History Took Its First Steps on the Sands of the Desert

Al Faya: Where History Took Its First Steps on the Sands of the Desert

In a timeless moment etched into the memory of human heritage, the sun of Sharjah rose once again on the map of the world, this time through the gateway of deep history. At its recently concluded 47th session in Paris, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee officially...

Previous Next
Close
Test Caption
Test Description goes like this