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The Head of Penguin Random House Resigns, After the Simon Schuster Acquisition Falls Through

I have decided to give over the reins of Penguin Random House to new management following the antitrust ruling in the US that barred the combination of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster
on Dec 12, 2022

The company said that Markus Dohle would leave at the end of the year and that it was "at his request and on the best of mutual terms."

Since 2013, Mr. Dohle has served as its leader, when Penguin became the largest book publisher in the world.

The acquisition of Simon & Schuster was abandoned due to competition issues.

A US judge sided with the US government, which had sought to thwart the merger because the alliance would result in lower pay and fewer possibilities for writers.

After nearly 15 years, I have decided to give over the reins of Penguin Random House to new management following the antitrust ruling in the US that barred the combination of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster.

According to Penguin's German owner Bertelsmann, the corporation will continue to look for smaller acquisitions, especially in the US.

Penguin's current US head, Nihar Malaviya, will serve as interim chief executive starting 1 January.

Penguin Random House was founded through the merging of the UK's Penguin with New York-based Random House in 2013.

Famous authors like Sylvia Plath, George Orwell, and Virginia Woolf have collaborated with Penguin.

More recently, it has released works by Dan Brown, Marian Keyes, and Zadie Smith.

Stephen King, Jennifer Weiner, and former US presidential contender Hillary Clinton are among the authors published by Simon & Schuster.

On behalf of the US government, which has taken a tougher stance against monopolies under US President Joe Biden, Mr. King was one of the well-known figures who spoke against the merger.

Although Bertelsmann first declared it would challenge the US ruling, it finally abandoned the agreement. Paying a $200 million breakup fee

Since 1994, Mr. Dohle has held a variety of positions at Bertelsmann. When Random House announced the massive merger with Penguin, he was the company's boss.