Simon & Schuster display at the London Book Fair on 12 March 2019 at Kensington Olympia in London.
Sam Mellish | In pictures | Getty Images
Viacom CBS announced on Wednesday that it was selling publishing company Simon & Schuster to Fertilizer’s subsidiary Penguin Random House, in a deal worth nearly $ 2.18 billion.
The transaction is expected to close in 2021.
The deal comes after Viacom auctioned off CBS Global Publishers, which took steps to exclude non-core assets from its company. Proceeds from the contract will be used to pay for ViacomsyBS ‘streaming business, financing its dividend and repaying the loan. As part of this strategy, the company recently sold CNET for $ 500 million.
As corona virus cases have increased, traditional entertainment venues such as movie theaters and theme parks have become an important destination for streaming media companies as they are often seen as closed or unsafe places to the public.
With Simon & Schuster as part of the company, Bertelsmann’s publishing empire Contains one-third of all books sold in the United States. The deal will keep some of the world’s best sellers under one umbrella, including John Grisham, Bob Woodward, Sandra Brown and Stephen King.
Simon & Schuster will continue to be managed as a separate publishing division under Penguin Random House. Jonathan Corp, CEO and CEO of Simon & Schuster, will continue to head the publishing company, along with Dennis Yula, who serves as CEO and Chief Financial Officer of the company.
The deal could draw the attention of the U.S. judiciary, as the combined shares of Simon & Schuster and Penguin Random House are large enough to dispel hopeless concerns.
Book sales have been particularly strong this year as the corona virus epidemic has limited other entertainment options. There is also a strong interest in books on political memoirs and social justice. For the nine months ended October 3, print book sales were up 6.4% year-on-year, according to data from NPD Bookscan.
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