In what will generally be welcomed as good news for both writers and readers, a US federal judge has blocked the attempt by Penguin Random House to take over Simon & Schuster in a $2.2 billion merger. Stephen King, despite being published by S&S, told the court hearings, ‘You might as well say you’re going to have a husband and wife bidding against each other for the same house. It’s kind of ridiculous. Consolidation is bad for competition.’
The case was brought by the US Department of Justice, which argued that the deal between the two companies would ‘substantially’ damage competition in the publishing industry. Just five companies control 90% of the US publishing market, and if the deal had gone ahead the merged company would have had 49% market share. Penguin argued that, ‘the Department of Justice’s focus on advances to the world’s best-paid authors instead of consumers or the intense competitiveness in the publishing sector runs contrary to its mission to ensure fair competition.’ The company called the decision by Judge Florence Y. Pan ‘an unfortunate setback for readers and authors,’ and plans to appeal.
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