Back in 2020, the biggest consumer book publisher in the world, Penguin Random House, offered

to pay more than $2 billion for one of its rivals, Simon and Schuster.

They want Simon and Schuster.

They feel they need it.

It will secure their legacy for many, many years going forward.

Owning Simon and Schuster puts them in a position unlike any other publisher in the world.

The acquisition would solidify Penguin Random House as the world's largest consumer publisher.

And further consolidate in industry, it's been consolidating for decades.

But yesterday, the US Justice Department sued today to block a giant merger in book publishing.

The pseudo legend is that Penguin Random House has proposed $2 billion acquisition of Simon

and Schuster would allow it to exert, quote, outsized influence over which books are published

in the United States and how much authors are paid.

The Justice Department's lawsuit succeeds.

It would blow up the deal.

But Penguin Random House doesn't plan to back away, which is setting up a showdown between

the world's biggest consumer publisher and the US government.

Welcome to the journal, our show about money, business and power.

I'm Ryan Knutson.

It's Wednesday, November 3rd.

Coming up on the show, a massive merger in the book publishing industry and the government's

fight to stop it.

Our colleague, Jeffrey Trachtenberg, has been covering the publishing industry for about

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