
Two major book publishers told a judge a US Justice Department antitrust lawsuit should be rejected, calling the government’s arguments “legally, factually, and economically wrong,” reported Reuters.
In November, the Justice Department sued to block Penguin Random House, the world’s biggest book publisher, from buying competitor Simon & Schuster, saying the deal would give the company “outsized influence” over what Americans read.
“The merger will neither reduce that leverage nor lessen the incentives of Penguin Random House and its competitors to make aggressive offers for the most coveted books,” the companies said in a court filing Monday.
Related: Authors Guild Wants DOJ To Stop Simon & Schuster & Penguin Random House Deal
German media group Bertelsmann, which owns Penguin Random House, last year agreed to pay $2.175 billions to buy Simon and Schuster from ViacomCBS, strengthening its presence in the United States and adding novelist Stephen King, Pulitzer Prize winner Anthony Doerr and veteran journalist Bob Woodward to its stable of authors.
In its complaint filed in federal court in Washington, the Justice Department said the deal would give “outsized influence over who and what is published, and how much authors are paid for their work.”
The complaint stressed the importance of the companies competing for top-selling books as well as the money earned by authors who write them.
The booksellers said the Justice Department “wants to protect the most successful authors, those with sophisticated agents and the most lucrative book contracts.”
Featured News
UK Business Secretary Calls for More Agile Competition Regulator
Feb 13, 2025 by
CPI
Germany’s Antitrust Regulator Raises Concerns Over Apple’s App Tracking Policies
Feb 13, 2025 by
CPI
$60 Billion Nissan-Honda Merger Falls Apart
Feb 13, 2025 by
CPI
DOJ Moves to End Protections for Three Regulatory Agencies
Feb 13, 2025 by
CPI
Meta to Allow Rivals to List Ads on Facebook Marketplace Following EU Fine
Feb 13, 2025 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – International Criminal Enforcement
Jan 23, 2025 by
CPI
The Antitrust Division’s Recent Work to Combat International Cartels
Jan 23, 2025 by
Emma Burnham & Benjamin Christenson
Information Sharing: The New Frontier of U.S. Antitrust Enforcement
Jan 23, 2025 by
Brian P. Quinn, Casey Kovarik & Michael Tubach
The Key Role of Guidelines on Exchanges of Information Among Competitors and the Divergent Transatlantic Paths
Jan 23, 2025 by
Rosa Abrantes-Metz & Albert Metz
Leniency, Whistleblowers, and Compliance
Jan 23, 2025 by
Richard Powers, Tara O’Malley & Cory Gordon