Penguin Random House to buy Simon & Schuster in deal that 'would create a publishing behemoth'

Books by Barack Obama, Bob Woodward, and Michael Cohen in a New York bookstore

(Image credit: AP/Mark Lennihan)

published 25 November 2020

Make way for Penguin Random House & Simon & Schuster.

ViacomCBS is selling Simon & Schuster, the third largest book publisher in the United States, to Penguin Random House, the largest U.S. publisher, in a deal topping $2 billion, The New York Times reports.

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ViacomCBS announced in March that Simon & Schuster would be put up for sale, and the Times reports that more than a half dozen potential buyers were interested, including News Corp, owner of HarperCollins. But this deal "could trigger antitrust concerns," the Times notes, as according to the Journal, it "would create a publishing behemoth accounting for about a third of all books sold in the U.S." The deal, Deadline reports, is "expected to close in 2021, subject to regulatory approval."

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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.

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