Paramount reportedly exploring sale of S&S

Simon & Schuster (S&S) parent company Paramount is working with a financial adviser to explore a sale of the publisher, reports Reuters.

Reuters reports that, according to people familiar with the matter, a sale could value S&S at between US$2–2.5 billion (A$2.9–3.5 b), although the process is at an early stage and a deal is not certain. Paramount will court private equity firms as potential buyers to avoid the competition concerns from US regulators that led to the abandoned sale to Penguin Random House (PRH) last year.

HarperCollins and Hachette—two companies that have previously expressed interest in buying S&S—offered no comment to Reuters on the story. Sources told Publishers Weekly that Paramount would not entertain an offer from HarperCollins, fearing a deal would run into the same issues that prevented the sale to PRH.

A Paramount spokesperson declined to comment to Reuters. Following the collapse of the PRH deal in November, Paramount CEO Bob Bakish said that S&S was a ‘non-core asset’ that ‘does not fit strategically within Paramount’s broader portfolio’.

Category: International news