HarperCollins Publishers and KKR & Co. are among the bidders for Simon & Schuster, as the book publisher pursues a sale for the second time in less than three years, according to people familiar with the situation.
Penguin Random House, the world’s largest consumer book publisher, agreed to buy Simon & Schuster for about $2.18 billion in November 2020, only to have the Justice Department file a lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C., opposing the sale. A court sided with the government and blocked the deal last year.
HarperCollins is betting that its bid wouldn’t meet a similar fate. The company is the No. 2 book publisher behind Penguin, with an 11% share of the U.S. market for print books, while Simon & Schuster is No. 3 with 6%, according to figures from Circana BookScan. Penguin Random House has a 21% share of that market.
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