Written by | Li Xuan
Penguin Random House was established in 2013. It was formed by the merger of Random House in Bertelsmann, Germany and Penguin Publishing Group in Pearson Group in the UK. Its publishing business accounts for more than 25% of the global market. Simon Schuster is one of the six largest publishers in the United States.
In November 2020, Bertelsmann, the owner of Penguin Random Books, won the bid against rival Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. He acquired publishers Simon and Schuster from Viacom CBS for $2.175 billion in cash.
This is an important measure for Bertelsmann to further strengthen his publishing business in the United States and occupy the US market. After the acquisition was completed, News Corporation CEO Robert Thomson criticized the deal, calling it "violated market logic." At present, the deal has aroused opposition from all walks of life in the United Kingdom and the United States.
The impact of this deal on the writer is obvious. This move has reduced U.S. publishers from five to four, which will greatly affect authors’ choices—the fewer bidders of their manuscripts, the more likely they will be to be lowered and the more unfavorable they will negotiate with publishers. As early as last year, the Authors Guild expressed opposition. At present, the Writers Association is very clear that if the deal continues, it will have serious consequences for writers who originally belonged to Simon Schuster—heavyweight writers including Hillary Clinton, John Irving, Stephen King and Bob Woodward will be under the control of Penguin Bookstore, causing a "unbalance of talent in the publishing industry." Therefore, the American Writers Association wrote to the Department of Justice, hoping to urge the Department of Justice to intervene in the transaction.
Source: Guardian
The Society of Author believes that the merged publishing giant will occupy more than 35% of the US book market - and this may monopolize the US market and have an adverse impact on consumers in terms of price. Therefore, the association further urged the Computers and Markets Authority to intervene in the investigation of the transaction.
On Monday, the Computers and Markets Authority said it was investigating whether the deal further consolidated Penguin Random House’s position as the world’s largest book publisher, whether it increased their market share, and whether it retained a monopoly position in the market to limit competition.
answer seems obvious. Penguin Random House’s merger with Simon and Schuster will expand their influence on Amazon and other bookstores. But Bertelsmann doesn't think so. CEO Thomas Rabe said last year that the acquisition would not change Amazon's dominance in the market, saying: "We need their support more." The Computers and Markets Authority will decide whether to conduct a phase two investigation by May 19. "The review results may prompt Penguin Random House to sell a portion of its assets to reduce their monopoly in the market."
Reference link:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/mar/22/authors-fear-the-worst-if-bertelsmann-takes-over-simon-schuster
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021 /mar/22/uk-watchdog-investigates-penguin-owner-simon-schuster-takeover-random-house
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-viacomcbs-m-a-bertelsmann-idUSKBN2851E6
Written by | Li Xuan
edit | Zhang Ting
proofreading | Li Shihui
Source: Beijing News
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-