US Judge lays out case for blocking publishing giants merger

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has laid out a data-laden case for why she blocked Penguin Random House’s proposed purchase of Simon & Schuster, handing a victory to the Biden Justice Department in its contention that combining two of the world’s biggest publishers would hurt competition for top-selling books.

In her ruling filed, Monday, US District Court Judge Florence Pan also waved off as not relevant the publishers’ assertion that Penguin Random

House would be the best “home” for Simon & Schuster and that other buyers — notably private equity firms — could destroy it. That argument isn’t relevant to the case and her decision, Pan wrote, which turns only on the issue of how the merger would affect competition.

Pan announced her ruling in a brief statement, last week, keeping the bulk of it under seal because of confidentiality issues. The full ruling issued this week delves into the data of publishing-market dynamics, replete with charts and graphs. Some company-related material is redacted.

“The government has presented a compelling case that predicts substantial harm to competition as a result of the proposed merger,” Pan wrote. “The post-merger concentration of the relevant market would be concerningly high: The merged entity would have a 49% market share, more than twice that of its closest competitor.”