Billion dollar takeover
Bertelsmann publishing deal finally collapsed
11/22/2022 1:04 am
Bertelsmann has to change course: The group actually wanted to buy the US book publisher Simon & Schuster for a sum of billions and thus expand its position in the USA. Nothing will come of it.
The multi-billion takeover of the US book publisher Simon & Schuster by the German Bertelsmann group has failed. Late Monday evening in Gütersloh, Bertelsmann announced that after discussions with Simon & Schuster shareholder Paramount Global, the original plan to appeal against a US court judgment was no longer being pursued.
Judges had forbidden the purchase weeks ago. The US government had successfully opposed the purchase with an antitrust lawsuit. Bertelsmann initially planned to appeal.
The group announced its original plans in November 2020. The Penguin Random House publishing group, which belongs to the portfolio, was actually supposed to take over the New York-based publishing house Simon & Schuster, which has successful authors such as Stephen King, for around 2.18 billion US dollars.
Bertelsmann had expected the deal to be completed in 2021. With the acquisition, the group wanted to expand its position in the USA. Bertelsmann is already the sole owner of Penguin Random House in New York, the largest trade book publishing group in the world.
The media, services and education group in Gütersloh also said that Penguin Random House will grow significantly organically and through acquisitions in the coming years. You will drive the growth of your own global book publishing business.
The collapsed deal is another setback for Bertelsmann. It was only in September that the RTL Group, which belongs to the group, rejected the plan to merge two private TV groups in France. The background was official requirements. Competition examiners had previously expressed concerns.