Publishers Weekly: DOJ v. PRH: “Ending Where We Started”
August 22, 2022
Penguin Random House lawyer Daniel Petrocelli delivered closing arguments last week in the publisher’s defense against the DOJ’s challenge to its proposed merger with Simon & Schuster. “I enjoyed listening to Stephen King,” Petrocelli said. “But no one is disputing his earnings. There are writers in this market who are billionaires. I mean Stephen King could buy Simon & Schuster.” US District Judge Florence Y. Pan, who presided over the trial, asked Petrocelli, “Does imprint competition undermine the government’s arguments about market share?” Petrocelli replied, “It doesn’t give any credit to internal competition. Agents are provoking competition among dozens and dozens of publishers. Market share doesn’t reflect that reality.”
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