NYT anticipates S&S deal announcement

The New York Times has reported that a deal announcement for the sale of Simon & Schuster (S&S) could be imminent.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that KKR, a private equity firm, was in “advanced talks” to buy S&S from Paramount. It reported that KKR’s bid stands at “about $1.65bn (£1.3bn), according to people familiar with the situation".

Reports say that this time around KKR was competing against bidders including News Corp-owned HarperCollins Publishers and investor Richard Hurowitz.

Now, the New York Times has reported that Paramount is preparing to announce an agreement to sell S&S to KKR. Paramount will publish its latest financial update today (Monday 7th August).

The paper spoke to three people familiar with the deal on Sunday (6th August), who said the deal could be announced as early as Monday (7th) though the deal was described as still not final and capable of yet falling apart.

The price agreed by Penguin Random House before its merger with S&S was blocked by the US Department of Justice was $2.2bn (£1.7bn), compared to the current bid of $1.65bn (£1.3bn) for the publisher. Following the collapsed deal, PRH paid Paramount a $200m termination fee.

According to the Financial Times, Paramount is taking regulatory risk into account as well as other factors, such as price.