The company has more than 10,000 employees worldwide and publishes nearly 15,000 titles annually.
Owned by Paramount Global, Simon & Schuster publishes books by authors such as Stephen King and Hillary Clinton.
Bertelsmann and Paramount said they were considering the decision and would seek a speedy appeal.
At a public hearing held in August, the government said the five largest publishers controlled 90% of the market, with Penguin and Simon & Schuster together making up nearly all of the blockbuster book rights market. claimed to control half. half that size.
While most merger discussions focus on consumer impact, the hearings were primarily focused on payments to authors.
The government argued that the deal should be blocked because it would reduce competition for best-selling books and lower advance payments for authors earning more than $250,000.
Penguin Random House attorney Daniel Petrocelli argued that the deal would benefit readers and authors tremendously, as imprints owned by the two giants would continue to compete with each other.
However, best-selling horror author Stephen King called the argument “absurd” in his testimony, adding:
In a post-judgment tweet, King wrote:
“The proposed merger wasn’t about readers and writers. It was about preserving (and growing) PRH’s market share. In other words, $$$.”
