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DOJ sues to block merger of Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster

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Simon & Schuster show on the London Guide Truthful at Kensington Olympia on the twelfth March 2019 in London.

Sam Mellish | In Footage | Getty Photos

The Biden administration on Tuesday sued Penguin Random Home and Simon & Schuster to dam the 2 firms from finishing a $2.175 billion merger that the administration mentioned “would possible hurt competitors within the publishing business.”

That lack of competitors would undermine authors’ energy to acquire advances and different providers essential for his or her books and careers, the Division of Justice’s Antitrust Division alleged in a civil lawsuit.

“If Defendants’ proposed merger is allowed to proceed, Penguin Random Home can be, by far, the biggest guide writer in the US, towering over its rivals,” mentioned the authorized criticism, which was filed in federal courtroom in Washington, D.C.

“The merger would give Penguin Random Home outsized affect over who and what’s printed, and the way a lot authors are paid for his or her work,” the Justice Division alleged.

The DOJ lawsuit additionally named as defendants Bertelsmann and ViacomCBS, the respective mum or dad firms of Penguin Random Home and Simon & Schuster.

Viacom in November 2020 introduced the greater than $2 billion deal to promote Simon & Schuster to to Penguin Random Home. With that buy, Bertelsmann’s media empire would develop to embody roughly one-third of all the books sold in the U.S.

Penguin Random Home and Simon & Schuster didn’t instantly reply to CNBC’s requests for touch upon the DOJ’s lawsuit.

That is growing information. Please verify again for updates.

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