WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Department of Justice said it filed a civil antitrust lawsuit to block Penguin Random House's proposed acquisition of its close competitor, Simon & Schuster.
The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleged that the acquisition of Simon & Schuster for $2.175 billion would put Penguin Random House in control of close to half the market for acquiring publishing rights to anticipated top-selling books, leaving hundreds of individual authors with fewer options and less leverage.
Penguin Random House LLC is a subsidiary of Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and is headquartered in New York, New York. Penguin Random House publishes 2,000 new trade books in the United States annually.
Simon & Schuster Inc. is a subsidiary of ViacomCBS Inc. and is headquartered in New York, New York. Simon & Schuster publishes 1,000 new trade books in the United States annually.
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