SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
The entrance to Simon & Schuster publishing house is seen in New York City on April 27, 2022.
(Photo: Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Critics Rip Private Equity Firm's Deal to Buy Simon & Schuster as 'Dark Day for Publishing'
"I guess all of corporate book publishing is beholden to investors above all else but this really makes it blatant," said one literary podcaster.
Aug 07, 2023
American literati recoiled in howls of articulate indignation Monday following news that multinational mass media conglomerate Paramount Global has agreed to sell venerable publishing house Simon & Schuster to KKR, described by one critic as "possibly the most vile example of a private equity firm that acquires, eviscerates, and kills off companies for profit."
The New York Times reports KKR will pay $1.62 billion in an all-cash deal for the 99-year-old publishing giant, which was first put up for sale in 2020.
Last October, a proposed $2.2 billion sale to Penguin Random House (PRH) collapsed after a federal judge sided with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which opposed the deal on antitrust grounds.
"I guess all of corporate book publishing is beholden to investors above all else but this really makes it blatant," tweeted Maris Kreizman, host of the Maris Review literary podcast. "As we saw in DOJ v. PRH, the people at the top truly don't know how the sausage gets made. And now a private equity firm will be at the tippy top. What could go wrong?"
Dashka Slater, the New York Times bestselling author of The 57 Bus—which won the Stonewall Book Award in 2018—said she was "horrified" to get an email from Simon & Schuster "announcing their acquisition by kleptocrats KKR."
"This is a dark day for publishing," Slater added.
According to Words Rated, an international data and analytics research group focusing on the publishing industry, over 80% of the nearly $91.4 billion annual U.S. book trade is controlled by the "Big Five" publishers—Penguin Random House, Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster.
Often referred to as "vulture capitalists" because they target financially floundering companies for acquisition before gutting their operations and personnel to maximize profit, private equity firms own or control scores of publishers, according to the market research site mergr.
KKR media chair Richard Sarnoff called the deal "a compelling opportunity to help Simon & Schuster become an even stronger partner to literary talent by investing in the expansion of the company's capabilities and distribution networks."
Jamie Ford, another Times bestselling author, had just "one question for the KKR board."
"What," he asked, "was the last book you read?"
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
dashka slaterkkrmaris kreizmanmergers and acquisitionsparamount globalpenguin random houseprivate equitypublishing industryrichard sarnoffsimon &schustercorporate power
American literati recoiled in howls of articulate indignation Monday following news that multinational mass media conglomerate Paramount Global has agreed to sell venerable publishing house Simon & Schuster to KKR, described by one critic as "possibly the most vile example of a private equity firm that acquires, eviscerates, and kills off companies for profit."
The New York Times reports KKR will pay $1.62 billion in an all-cash deal for the 99-year-old publishing giant, which was first put up for sale in 2020.
Last October, a proposed $2.2 billion sale to Penguin Random House (PRH) collapsed after a federal judge sided with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which opposed the deal on antitrust grounds.
"I guess all of corporate book publishing is beholden to investors above all else but this really makes it blatant," tweeted Maris Kreizman, host of the Maris Review literary podcast. "As we saw in DOJ v. PRH, the people at the top truly don't know how the sausage gets made. And now a private equity firm will be at the tippy top. What could go wrong?"
Dashka Slater, the New York Times bestselling author of The 57 Bus—which won the Stonewall Book Award in 2018—said she was "horrified" to get an email from Simon & Schuster "announcing their acquisition by kleptocrats KKR."
"This is a dark day for publishing," Slater added.
According to Words Rated, an international data and analytics research group focusing on the publishing industry, over 80% of the nearly $91.4 billion annual U.S. book trade is controlled by the "Big Five" publishers—Penguin Random House, Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster.
Often referred to as "vulture capitalists" because they target financially floundering companies for acquisition before gutting their operations and personnel to maximize profit, private equity firms own or control scores of publishers, according to the market research site mergr.
KKR media chair Richard Sarnoff called the deal "a compelling opportunity to help Simon & Schuster become an even stronger partner to literary talent by investing in the expansion of the company's capabilities and distribution networks."
Jamie Ford, another Times bestselling author, had just "one question for the KKR board."
"What," he asked, "was the last book you read?"
American literati recoiled in howls of articulate indignation Monday following news that multinational mass media conglomerate Paramount Global has agreed to sell venerable publishing house Simon & Schuster to KKR, described by one critic as "possibly the most vile example of a private equity firm that acquires, eviscerates, and kills off companies for profit."
The New York Times reports KKR will pay $1.62 billion in an all-cash deal for the 99-year-old publishing giant, which was first put up for sale in 2020.
Last October, a proposed $2.2 billion sale to Penguin Random House (PRH) collapsed after a federal judge sided with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which opposed the deal on antitrust grounds.
"I guess all of corporate book publishing is beholden to investors above all else but this really makes it blatant," tweeted Maris Kreizman, host of the Maris Review literary podcast. "As we saw in DOJ v. PRH, the people at the top truly don't know how the sausage gets made. And now a private equity firm will be at the tippy top. What could go wrong?"
Dashka Slater, the New York Times bestselling author of The 57 Bus—which won the Stonewall Book Award in 2018—said she was "horrified" to get an email from Simon & Schuster "announcing their acquisition by kleptocrats KKR."
"This is a dark day for publishing," Slater added.
According to Words Rated, an international data and analytics research group focusing on the publishing industry, over 80% of the nearly $91.4 billion annual U.S. book trade is controlled by the "Big Five" publishers—Penguin Random House, Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster.
Often referred to as "vulture capitalists" because they target financially floundering companies for acquisition before gutting their operations and personnel to maximize profit, private equity firms own or control scores of publishers, according to the market research site mergr.
KKR media chair Richard Sarnoff called the deal "a compelling opportunity to help Simon & Schuster become an even stronger partner to literary talent by investing in the expansion of the company's capabilities and distribution networks."
Jamie Ford, another Times bestselling author, had just "one question for the KKR board."
"What," he asked, "was the last book you read?"
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.