6/26/2023 0 Comments Random house![]() We are more successful and valuable today than we have ever been, thanks to the efforts of all of you on behalf of our many magnificent authors.“Books have the capacity to change lives for the better, and students in particular deserve equitable access to a wide range of perspectives. In a company memo Monday shared with The Associated Press, Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp sought to reassure employees that "despite this news, our company continues to thrive. Authors at Penguin Random House include Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, "Where the Crawdads Sing" novelist Delia Owens and historian Robert A. Simon & Schuster is one of the country's oldest and most successful publishers, with authors ranging from King and and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Colleen Hoover and Doris Kearns Goodwin. Penguin Random House and corporate owner Bertelsmann would have to pay a termination fee of around $200 million to Paramount should the merger fall through, according to the terms of the proposed sale. Under bidders against Penguin Random House included Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, which owns HarperCollins Publishers. The publisher had been up for sale well before the Penguin Random House deal was announced late in 2020 and the publisher's corporate parent, Paramount Global, has said it did not see Simon & Schuster as part of its future. Simon & Schuster will likely end up under new ownership, no matter the outcome of any legal appeals. Pan otherwise persistently challenged Penguin Random House's assurances that the merger would not reduce competition. But he acknowledged under oath during the trial that his guarantee was not legally binding. "I apologize for the passionate language," Penguin Random House's global, CEO Markus Dohle, testified after some text messages were displayed.ĭohle had promised that imprints of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster would still be permitted to bid against each other for books. Emails and private text messages revealed tension among top Penguin Random House officials. Executives on the stand spoke of bestselling works they failed to acquire and acknowledged that most books don't make money. health insurer, of Change Healthcare, a healthcare technology company.įor Penguin Random House and the New York-based publishing world, the trial in August proved an often uncomfortable airing of business practices, internal disagreements and missed opportunities. They also were stymied in their effort to block the roughly $8 billion acquisition by UnitedHealth Group, which runs the largest U.S. The prosecutors signaled that they intended to appeal the decision. ![]() sugar, from acquiring its rival Imperial Sugar Co., one of the largest sugar refiners in the nation. The DOJ lost its bid to block a major U.S. ![]() ![]() Monday's news follows recent losses for the department in two significant antitrust cases in separate federal courts. The Biden Justice Department has been pushing forward with aggressive enforcement of federal antitrust laws that officials say aim to ensure a fair and competitive market. King tweeted Monday that he was "delighted" by the ruling, adding: "The proposed merger was never about readers and writers it was about preserving (and growing) PRH's market share. The joining of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster would have created a company far exceeding any rival and those opposing the merger included one of Simon & Schuster's signature writers, Stephen King, who testified last summer on behalf of the government. The publishing industry has been consolidating for years with little interference from the government, even when Random House and Penguin merged in 2013 and formed what was then the biggest publishing house in memory. Penguin Random House quickly condemned the ruling, which it called "an unfortunate setback for readers and authors." In its statement Monday, the publisher said it would seek an expedited appeal.īut it was still a dramatic departure from recent history in the book world and beyond. Pan announced the decision in a brief statement Monday, adding that much of her ruling remained under seal at the moment because of "confidential information" and "highly confidential information." She asked the two sides to meet with her Friday and suggest redactions. NEW YORK - A federal judge has blocked Penguin Random House's proposed purchase of Simon & Schuster, agreeing with the Justice Department that the joining of two of the world's biggest publishers could "lessen competition" for "top-selling books." The ruling was a victory for the Biden administration's tougher approach to proposed mergers, a break from decades of precedent under Democratic and Republican leadership. A book published by Simon & Schuster is displayed on Saturday, July 30, 2022, in Tigard, Ore.
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