Penguin Random House CEO Markus Dohle Resigns After Failed Simon & Schuster Deal

deadline.com:

Markus Dohle, the chief executive of Penguin Random House has announced his resignation after the world’s largest trade book publisher failed in its bid to acquire Simon & Schuster.

The Department of Justice sued to block the $2.2 billion deal and the publishers, owned by Bertelsmann and Paramount Global, went to court.

They failed to convince the judge in the civil antitrust lawsuit, who ruled against the merger. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found that the effect of the proposed merger would be to substantially lessen competition in the market for U.S.

publishing rights to anticipated top-selling books. Stephen King appeared as a star witness for the DOJ, saying “consolidation is bad for competition.” The business has consolidated so much that now it’s about publishers being deferential to rival bidders — a gentlemanly “After you.