Paramount to sell Simon & Schuster to KKR for $1.62 billion
Summary
Paramount Global agreed to sell book publisher Simon & Schuster to private equity giant KKR for $1.62 billion, the media company said Monday as it reported earnings. KKRs entry into the book publishing space comes months after Paramount scrapped its initial agreement to sell Simon & Schuster to rival Penguin Random House — which was valued at $2.2 billion — after a federal judge rejected the merger and it raised red flags with the government. Paramount executives said during Mondays earnings call that the proceeds of the Simon & Schuster sale would be used in the companys ongoing effort to pay down debt. The $200 million termination fee Paramount received from Penguin when that deal was scrapped, along with the money saved when the company cut its dividend, will also go toward lowering leverage, CFO Naveen Chopra said Monday. Paramount CEO Bob Bakish said on Mondays call that he wouldnt comment on any specific moves, but said the company was open to divesting, acquiring and partnering to drive shareholder value.