ViacomCBS sells Simon & Schuster to Bertelmann's Penguin Random House

By Emmanuel Legrand

ViacomCBS has sold book publisher Simon & Schuster to Bertelsmann's publishing unit Penguin Random House, in a $2.175 billion deal that will create the world's leading publishing company, providing the agreement gets the green light from antitrust regulators on both side of the Atlantic. "Simon & Schuster strengthens Bertelsmann’s footprint globally, and particular in the US, its second-largest market," said Bertelsmann in a statement. The transaction will be paid "in cash from existing liquid funds."

  According to The New York Times, the deal "includes provisions that would protect ViacomCBS in the event that a sale is squashed by authorities," with Bertelsmann agreeing to pay a termination fee if the deal is not cleared.

Strengthening Bertelsmann's content business

  Simon & Schuster employs around 1,500 people worldwide and generated revenues of $814m in 2019. It publishes authors such as Hillary Clinton, John Irving, Stephen King, and Bob Woodward. Bertelsmann said Simon & Schuster "will continue to be managed as a separate publishing unit" under the Penguin Random House umbrella. Jonathan Karp, President & CEO of Simon & Schuster, and Dennis Eulau, COO and CFO, stay in their role.

  “Following the full acquisition of Penguin Random House in April this year, this purchase marks another strategic milestone in strengthening our global content businesses, which include Penguin Random House, the Fremantle TV production business, and the BMG music division," said Thomas Rabe, Chairman & CEO of Bertelsmann. "The book business has been part of Bertelsmann’s identity since the founding of C. Bertelsmann Verlag more than 185 years ago and has lost none of its appeal to this day. Bertelsmann continues to be one of the world’s leading creative companies with annual investments in content of around €6 billion."