Photo Credit: National Endowment for the Arts, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The U.S. government is suing to stop Penguin Random House from buying Simon &amp; Schuster.
The government argues that the merger will demolish the number of publishing houses by reducing competition for their books. Other publishing houses argue that the merger would be completely anticompetitive.
"The lawsuit will test whether the government can mount more antitrust cases targeting the effects of corporate concentration on how much workers &mdash; in this case, writers of major books &mdash; get paid," the NYT's overview of the lawsuit states.
&nbsp;<img src="https://api.fastersmart.online/uploads/embeds/1659515474-BeFunky-collage_-_2022-08-03T103018.839.jpg" alt="" />Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Back in 2020, Penguin Random House announced its bid to acquire Simon &amp; Schuster. The merging of the two will drastically change the literary existence by dramatically reducing the number of major publishing houses.
Most recently, the well-known author, Stephen King, testified for the government and against longtime publisher Simon &amp; Schuster in the antitrust trial that will decide if two of the publishing houses can merge or not.
King has been vocal about his criticism of Penguin Random House&rsquo;s proposed $2.2 billion acquisition of his publisher, Simon &amp; Schuster.
<img src="https://api.fastersmart.online/uploads/embeds/1659515461-BeFunky-collage_-_2022-08-03T103027.937.jpg" alt="" />&nbsp;Photo Credit: Shutterstock
&ldquo;I came because I think consolidation is bad for competition,&rdquo; he told the court, according to Variety. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s my understanding of the book business, and I&rsquo;ve been around it for 50 years.&rdquo;
On the other hand, Penguin Random House claims that the deal would actually do the opposite and will increase competition in the market because the increased efficiency would let it pay its authors more.
Penguin Random House has also pledged that Simon &amp; Schuster would be allowed to bid against other Penguin Random House imprints after the merger. Nevertheless, the United States Department of Justice isn&rsquo;t buying this idea. &ldquo;You might as well say you are going to have a husband and wife bidding against each other for a house,&rdquo; King testified. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a little bit ridiculous.&rdquo;&nbsp;

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