HarperCollins, KKR seen as suitors for Simon & Schuster, WSJ reports

HarperCollins, owned by News Corp. (NWSA), and KKR (KKR) are potential bidders for Simon & Schuster, as the publisher seeks a sale yet again, Jessica Toonkel and Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg of Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation. Penguin Random House agreed to buy Paramount’s (PARA) Simon & Schuster for about $2.18B in November 2020, only to have the deal blocked by the Justice Department last year. HarperCollins, which has almost half the market share as Penguin Random House, is hoping that its bid will not meet a similar fate.