A federal judge has blocked Penguin Random House’s attempt to swallow its smaller rival, Simon & Schuster, dealing a blow to the world’s largest book publisher’s attempt to become an even bigger giant.
Late Monday, U.S. District Judge Florence Y. Pan ruled the government succeeded in its case by demonstrating the proposed merger would have anti-trust implications by likely “substantially” lessening competition “in the market for the U.S. publishing rights to anticipated top-selling books.”
Pan’s ruling hands the Biden Administration a decisive victory as it weighs whether to challenge other industry-shaping mergers.
