A federal judge on Monday banned Penguin Random House from acquiring rival Simon & Schuster, siding with the US Justice Department, which had opposed the mega-merger.
The $2.2 billion agreement, announced in November 2020, would have brought together two of the top five American publishers.
In her decision, US District Court Judge Florence Pan stated that the government had effectively demonstrated that the merger would significantly reduce competition “in the market for the US publication rights to expected top-selling novels.”
Pan stated that her decision would be issued under secrecy since it depended on secret business information.
The Justice Department applauded the decision, which comes just a week before important midterm elections in which Democratic President Joe Biden has attempted to portray his party as protecting consumers’ interests.
Biden’s Justice Department has been more aggressive in attempting to block mergers than his predecessors, with mixed results thus far.
