Feds and Penguin Random House set to square off over Simon & Schuster deal
CBSN
The government and publishing titan Penguin Random House are set to exchange opening salvos in a federal antitrust trial Monday as the Department of Justice seeks to block the biggest U.S. book publisher from absorbing rival Simon & Schuster.
At a time of mega-mergers and flashy high-tech corporate hookups, the biggest U.S. book publisher's plan to buy the fourth-largest for a mere $2.2 billion may seem somewhat quaint. But the deal represents such a key test for the Biden administration's antitrust policy that the Justice Department is calling an out-of-the-ordinary witness to "The Stand": horror master Stephen King.
The renowned author whose genre-transcending works are published by Simon & Schuster is expected to testify during the weekslong trial in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., and is likely to draw wide attention.
