Cynthia Littleton Business EditorThe Justice Department has filed an anti-trust lawsuit against to block ViacomCBS’ sale of publisher Simon & Schuster to Penguin Random House, asserting that it would give the enlarged company too much power over the book business.ViacomCBS set a deal with Germany’s Bertelsmann, parent company of Penguin Random House, to sell Simon & Schuster for $2.1 billion in November 2020.“Books have shaped American public life throughout our nation’s history, and authors are the lifeblood of book publishing in America.
But just five publishers control the U.S. publishing industry,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said. “If the world’s largest book publisher is permitted to acquire one of its biggest rivals, it will.
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