The Paramount Global group announced on Monday that it had signed a “definitive agreement” under which US investment firm KKR will buy the Simon & Schuster publishing house from it for $1.62 billion, around €1.5 billion.
Simon & Schuster, founded in 1924, publishes around 2.000 books a year, including works by international best-selling authors such as novelist Stephen King and journalist Bob Woodward.
Paramount Global had been trying for years to sell off this business unit and use the proceeds of the sale to reduce its debts. In November 2020, it reached an agreement to sell it to Penguin Random House for $2.18 billion, but finally abandoned the deal two years later after the merger between publishing giants was blocked by the US courts on the grounds of competition law.
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement on a transaction that delivers excellent value to Paramount shareholders while also positioning Simon & Schuster for its next phase of growth with KKR,” Paramount CEO Bob Bakish said in a statement.
The transaction will be paid for entirely in cash, Paramount said, indicating that after completion – subject to regulatory approvals – Simon & Schuster would become a wholly owned private company with the same management team as now.
Paramount also plans to focus more on its own streaming platform, among other things. Its Paramount+ streaming service gained around 1 million subscribers in the last quarter, bringing its total to 61 million paying members.
Paramount reported second-quarter revenue of $7.6 billion, beating market experts’ expectations.
