Germany’s Bertelsmann to buy Simon & Schuster in $2.17B cash deal

German media giant Bertelsmann said Wednesday that it is buying publisher Simon & Schuster from ViacomCBS for $2.17bn in cash.

Bertelsmann says the New York-based firm, whose authors include Stephen King, Hillary Clinton and John Irving, will become a unit within its book-publishing division Penguin Random House.

“Simon & Schuster strengthens Bertelsmann’s footprint globally, and particular in the United States, its second-largest market,” the Guetersloh-based company said in a statement

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close during 2021, it said.

Bertelsmann said Simon & Schuster’s current president and chief executive, Jonathan Karp, will continue to lead the publishing house.

Bertelsmann, which was founded in 1835 and also owns a broad portfolio of broadcast, music and online businesses, has been the sole owner of Penguin Random House since April.