Bidding for Simon & Schuster Draws to a Close
The sale of Simon & Schuster appears to be nearing a suspenseful conclusion, like the final chapter of a page-turner from one of the country’s largest and most prestigious publishing houses.
Second-round bids for Simon & Schuster — which publishes boldface names like Stephen King — were due earlier this week, according to three people familiar with the negotiations, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the confidential sale process. Two of them said the remaining bidders included KKR, one of the world’s largest private-equity firms, and News Corp, the owner of HarperCollins, a competing publishing house.
The sale process is expected to conclude in the coming weeks, the people said.
A sale would put an end to years of uncertainty for Simon & Schuster, which is owned by Paramount (formerly ViacomCBS) and was initially put up for sale in early 2020.
How much suitors for Simon & Schuster were willing to pay couldn’t be determined. The last time the publisher went on the block, rival Penguin Random House agreed to pay $2.2 billion, but the Department of Justice stymied that deal.
Source: The New York Times
