Current:Home > reviewsSimon & Schuster purchased by private equity firm KKR for $1.62 billion -Prime Money Path
Simon & Schuster purchased by private equity firm KKR for $1.62 billion
View
Date:2025-04-27 19:18:12
NEW YORK (AP) — Simon & Schuster has been sold to the private equity firm KKR, months after a federal judge blocked its purchase by rival publisher Penguin Random House because of concerns that competition would shrink in the book market.
The private equity giant will buy Simon & Schuster for $1.62 billion in cash, said Paramount Global, the parent company of the storied book publisher.
Simon & Schuster, where authors include Stephen King, Colleen Hoover and Bob Woodward, is one of the so-called “Big Five” of New York publishing, with others including Penguin Random House, HarperCollins Publishing, Hachette Book Group and Macmillan. HarperCollins, owned by Rupert Murdoch’s NewsCorp, had reportedly been interested in buying Simon & Schuster.
“All of the executives at Simon & Schuster who met with KKR came away from those conversations impressed with the depth of KKR’s interest in our business and their commitment to helping us grow, thrive and become an even stronger company,” said Jonathan Karp, president and CEO of Simon & Schuster, in a statement.
Late in 2020, Paramount had announced the sale of Simon & Schuster to Penguin Random House for $2.2 billion, a deal that would have made the new company by far the biggest in the U.S. But the Department of Justice, which under the Biden administration has taken a tougher stance on mergers compared to other recent presidencies, sued to block the sale in 2021.
After a three-week trial in the summer of 2022, with King among those opposing the merger, U.S. District Judge Florence Y. Pan ruled in the government’s favor, saying the DOJ had made “a compelling case that predicts substantial harm to competition.”
Paramount declined to appeal the decision, and instead renewed its efforts to sell Simon & Schuster, which next year marks its centennial. The company, founded in 1924 by Richard Simon and Max Schuster, has changed ownership a handful of times since being purchased by Gulf+Western in 1975.
veryGood! (5)
Related
- 'Kraven the Hunter' spoilers! Let's dig into that twisty ending, supervillain reveal
- Man, teenage girl found dead in Wisconsin after shooting at officers, Iowa slaying
- Taylor Swift's music is back on TikTok a week before the release of 'Tortured Poets'
- Uber and Lyft delay their plans to leave Minneapolis after officials push back driver pay plan
- 'Malcolm in the Middle’ to return with new episodes featuring Frankie Muniz
- The magic of the Masters can't overshadow fact that men's golf is in some trouble
- Parent Trap’s Dennis Quaid Reveals What Nick Parker Is Up to Today
- Iowa governor signs bill that allows for arrest of some migrants
- 'As foretold in the prophecy': Elon Musk and internet react as Tesla stock hits $420 all
- Photos show damage, flooding as Southern states are hit with heavy rain and tornadoes
Ranking
- Realtor group picks top 10 housing hot spots for 2025: Did your city make the list?
- Salmon fishing to be banned off California coast for 2nd year in a row
- MLB Misery Index: AL Central limping early with White Sox, Guardians injuries
- QB Shedeur Sanders attends first in-person lecture at Colorado after more than a year
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Don't say yes when caller asks 'Can you hear me now?'
- Dramatic video shows drowning and exhausted horse being rescued from Florida retention pond
- Caitlyn Jenner posts 'good riddance' amid O.J. Simpson death
Recommendation
Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
A German art gallery employee snuck in his own art in hopes of a breakthrough. Now the police are involved.
10 Things to Remember about O.J. Simpson
'Bridgerton' Season 3 gets dramatic new trailer: How to watch, what to know about Netflix hit
At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
Here’s how investigators allege Ippei Mizuhara stole $16 million from Shohei Ohtani
Here’s how investigators allege Ippei Mizuhara stole $16 million from Shohei Ohtani
Don't say yes when caller asks 'Can you hear me now?'