Paramount Global is once again working with financial advisors to successfully sell Simon & Schuster, the third largest book publisher. This time it looks like the deal may actually happen.
In 2020 an attempt to sell Simon & Schuster in a $2.2 billion deal to Penguin Random House was blocked by United States regulators over competition concerns. Antitrust enforcement has become a major concern, and this specific merger case went on to set a precedent in the publishing industry, with several authors publicly supporting the of blocking the deal.
Combining the leading publishing company with the third largest was not well received by regulators, citing issues would arise that effectually could drastically reduce competition amongst publishers.
Now Paramount has found a private investment giant KKR that is reportedly interested in buying Simon & Schuster according to a report from Deadline.
There have been reports of several other bidders who had shown interest in purchasing Simon & Schuster, such as HarperCollins or even European publisher Hachette Publishing. However, dealing with the strict United States regulations may prove challenging to any major publisher. Now a deal with a KKR should be able to get approval giving Paramount some much-needed cash for its streaming efforts.
Deadline is reporting this deal will be around $1.62 billion far less than the original $2.2 deal to sell to Penguin Random House.
This comes as Paramount has been looking at cutting anything that is not core to its new streaming focus. BET and VH1 have reportedly been up for sale as have some of its smaller streaming services.
Paramount+ the main focus of Paramount’s future TV efforts is still losing money. Reportedly Paramount hopes it will be profitable in 2024 or 2025 and $1.62 billion could help it reach that goal.